Jack Ma is in ‘pain’ over his $28 billion wealth

WOULD you be happy with a $28 billion bounty? China’s richest man, Jack Ma, is finding it all too much to deal with.

WOULD $28 billion make you happy? Or would you be weighed down by the pressure and expectations of that much money?

For China’s richest man, Jack Ma, it’s the latter.

Mr Ma was recently minted China’s richest man after his online retail conglomerate’s record breaking debut on the New York Stock Exchange, which valued Alibaba at $247 billion. Not exactly chump change.

But he’s just told CNBC that he’s unhappy.

He said to the cable news network: “This month I’m not very happy — I think too much pressure. I try to make myself happy because I know that if I’m not happy my colleagues are not happy and my shareholders are not happy and my customers are not happy.

“Maybe the stock goes so up, maybe people have high expectations on you, maybe I think too much about the future and have too many things to worry about. IPO is great and I’m happy with the results but honestly, I think when people think too highly of you, you have the responsibility to calm down and be yourself.”

The trappings of wealth can be a burden — just ask all those lottery winners who wish they’d never bought the ticket.

MORE: JUST WHO IS JACK MA?

Mr Ma said: “Forbes or some magazine said I was the richest guy in China. This is a pain. I never thought I would be and I don’t want to be. I just want to do the things.

Friends in high places. Jack Ma with Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper.

“People say, Jack, please, rich is good. Yeah, it’s good but not the richest man of the world in or China. When you’re the richest person in the world, everyone surrounds you for your money. When you don’t have money, you’re looking for money. I have a lot of friends but when I walk down the street, people look at you differently.”

Mr Ma’s wealth is sure to be a little higher today after Alibaba had a $10 billion sale day on Tuesday. The company’s stock has been rising consistently since the IPO.

Mr Ma has signalled he plans to invest a lot of his enormous wealth in projects to improve the world. He’s previously nominated the environment and education as his priorities. CNBC said philanthropy will be a way for Mr Ma to alleviate the pain he’s feeling from being super rich.

Mr Ma said: “If you make a lot of money, you’ve got to spend it. You can’t do this by buying 10 bars or 11 houses. You want to spend money in an effective way. You want to spend to spend it in a business way that can really help people.”

He’s also laid down the challenge to fellow noted philanthropist, and depending on the day, either the world’s richest or second richest man, Bill Gates.

“How can you spend the money more efficiently than the government or the other guy?,” he said. “This is a big challenge. So the competition between me and Bill Gates is who can spend money the more effective way and do better philanthropy.”