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Chinese internet tycoon Jack Ma has seen his wealth plummet in the wake of his controversial comments about the Chinese government and a mysterious disappearance.
Just three years ago, Ma was the richest person in Asia, having amassed a fortune that peaked at $61.7 billion.
Today, his net worth stands at just over $30 billion—with his wealth plummeting by around $4 billion in the last week alone.
The 58-year-old—who failed his college entrance exam twice and was rejected for a plethora of jobs before setting up e-commerce giant Alibaba from his apartment in 1999—has a fortune that’s tied to Alibaba and its online payment service Ant Group.
The two companies have been at the center of probes carried out by the Chinese authorities in recent years, which came after Ma openly criticized China’s financial regulators for being too risk-averse and accused the country’s banks of operating with a “pawnshop mentality.”
The intense pressure from Beijing on Alibaba and Ma himself saw the last-minute cancellation of Ant Group’s record-breaking $34.5 billion IPO, Ma giving up control of the fintech giant, and Alibaba being slapped with a $2.8 billion antitrust fine.
Last week, China’s financial regulators said they were wrapping up their investigation into Ant, and handed the fintech firm a fine close to $1 billion for breaching regulations relating to consumer protection and corporate governance. It was one of the largest penalties ever imposed on an internet company in China, according to news agency Reuters.
Bloomberg reported on Tuesday that Ma’s 9.9% stake in Ant is now estimated to be worth $4 billion less than it was a year ago, with the firm’s valuation dropping from $315 billion ahead of its IPO to around $78.5 billion.
Had the company’s mammoth public debut gone ahead, Ma’s net worth would have been boosted by billions of dollars, propelling him up the ranking of the world’s wealthiest people. Alibaba itself enjoyed the world’s largest ever IPO in 2014, shattering records when it raised $25 billion on its initial listing in New York.
Beijing’s clampdown has had the opposite effect, however, with the companies Ma founded reportedly losing $850 billion to the regulatory crackdown.
Representatives for Ma did not respond to Fortune’s request for comment.
Ma is ‘alive’ and ‘happy’
Since finding himself embroiled in controversy in China, Ma has reverted to his pre-Alibaba career of teaching.
The billionaire has taken on two temporary teaching posts—a summer position at the University of Tokyo and a three-year honorary professorship at the University of Hong Kong. He taught his first class on innovation and entrepreneurship in the Japanese capital last month.
Ma’s appearance at the university sparked interest, after his confrontation with China’s government led to his disappearance from public view. His going off radar prompted rumors that he had been placed under house arrest, with some even questioning whether he was still alive.
Since resurfacing in a video released by Chinese state media in early 2021, Ma’s public appearances have been sporadic, with the entrepreneur—once known for his flamboyance and quirky publicity stunts—making headlines when he showed up in Thailand, Mallorca, his hometown, and at an Alibaba event.
Speaking at the Vivatech conference in Paris last month, Alibaba president Michael Evans set out to reassure those interested in Ma’s whereabouts that the elusive founder was “alive” and “happy.”
