Alibaba Jack Mas president said he is spending more time and assets on charity with the desire to establish a charity fund focused on education, as billionaire Bill Gates did in a recent interview with Bloomberg TV.
Jack Ma turned 54 earlier this week, he owns assets of more than 40 billion USD. The billionaire is preparing a foundation for a future without working at Alibaba.
I can learn a lot from Bill Gates. I may never be as rich as Gates, but there is one thing I can do better than him, which is to retire earlier, Jack Ma said in the interview.
The Alibaba boss shared that one day and soon, he will return to the teaching profession. This is something I think I can do better than being a CEO of Alibaba, Jack Ma said.
When asked if he could retire at the end of this year, Jack Ma just shun and laugh. He did not disclose how he would use the money for charity, or put it in a fund like many other billionaires. Youll know soon. I have prepared for the Jack Ma Foundation. I have prepared everything for 10 years, Jack Ma said.
Previously, this billionaire admitted that he was only happy when he earned a very little money while still a teacher with a salary of about 12 USD. After graduating from university in 1988, he teaches English at a university in Hangzhou (China). When talking at an economic club in New York (USA), he said: "That was the most beautiful life I had ever had."
Jack Ma believes that when you become a billionaire, you carry many responsibilities on your shoulders unlike when you have little money. When you have 1 million USD, the money is no longer your own. That is the responsibility and trust that everyone has in you, the billionaire said. He felt the need to spend money to help society.
Although Jack Ma accidentally entered the world of business when he founded Alibaba 20 years ago, he has still become one of the most admired business leaders in China. Even when he resigned as CEO in 2013, this former English teacher was the face of a company with a capitalization of more than 400 billion USD and operating widely from e-commerce, cloud computing, online payments to Hollywood film production.
He founded Alibaba in 1999 with a capital of 60,000 USD and 18 other members. With wise deals and an investment from softBank, Jack Ma has helped Alibaba become a "giant". Last year, the e-commerce company processed about 55 million orders per day. Jack Ma also owns Ant Financial - the financial company that operates the largest online payment system in China. The business has more than 870 million users through Alipay and its systems.
