Amid Jack Ma's disappearance rumours, look back at his journey from teacher to billionaire

Amid rumours of billionaire Jack Ma missing following months of scrutiny by the Chinese Communist State, here's a look back at the journey of Alibaba founder, who literally made one of the first pieces of information about China available on the internet in the early days. Before founding Alibaba, which went on to become one of the largest e-commerce sites in the world, Ma had been rejected by several companies, including the police where he applied for jobs. 

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Ma was interested in learning the English language ever since he was a kid. Ma would guide English-speaking tourists in his city of Hangzhou in order to learn the language. Ma also made one of the tourists a pen friend, which gave him the name 'Jack' because he found it difficult to pronounce his Chinese name. Ma then rolled into Hangzhou Normal University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. He taught English at Hangzhou Dianzi University before leaving the job.

Read: China's Crackdown On Jack Ma Worsens, Pressure Mounts On Ant Group To Shake Up Its Lending

Ma went to the United States for the first time in 1995, where he came to know about the internet. Ma searched for many things when he first got his hands on a computer with an active internet connection in the US. However, Ma was left surprised when he failed to find any information regarding China on the web. Ma and his friends then launched a website consisting of general information about China called 'China Pages'. 

Read: China Intensifies Alibaba Crackdown With Anti-monopoly Probe; Xi Unrelenting On Jack Ma

After just two hours of the launch, Ma started receiving calls from several Chinese investors who wanted to enquire about him. Ma began building websites for Chinese companies with the help of his friends as he had no knowledge about writing codes. Ma also worked with the Chinese government's Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, where he headed an information technology company. He quit the job in 1999 and returned to Hangzhou, where he founded Alibaba with his friends. 

Ma went on to become one of the richest men on the planet and was also the richest man in Asia for quite some time. According to Bloomberg's Billionaire's Index, Ma is currently worth $50 billion and ranks 25th in the world. 

Read: China Blocks Jack Ma's Ant Group Co From Making Biggest Stock Market Debut

Ma's disappearance

Jack Ma is trending at number six on Twitter after reports emerged that the 56-year-old businessman, who is currently under the scanner of the ruling Communist Party, has not been seen in the public for weeks. Jack Ma posted his last tweet on October 10, 2020, which has also raised many eyebrows about his whereabouts because the Chinese Communist Party has a notorious history of abducting influential people who are under their radar.

Read: Chinese Billionaire Jack Ma Missing? Speculation Rife Amid Xi's Crackdown On Alibaba Boss

(Image Credit: AP)