Jack Ma made headlines recently after visiting President Trump and announcing that he would help create a million jobs in the US.
But the Chinese billionaire has not held back voicing scepticism of Trump's protectionist policies, warning "if trade stops, war starts."
When it comes to trade, Ma knows what he's talking about. According to Forbes, he's worth an estimated $29 billion, which includes his 7.8% stake in Alibaba — China's answer to Amazon — and a nearly 50% stake in payment-processing service Alipay.
Ma is a true rags-to-riches story. He grew up poor in communist China, failed his university-entrance exam twice, and was rejected from dozens of jobs, including one at KFC, before finding success with his third internet company, Alibaba.
Jillian D'onfro contributed to an earlier version of this post.
Jack Ma — born Ma Yun — was born on October 15, 1964, in Hangzhou, located in the southeastern part of China. He has an older brother and a younger sister. He and his siblings grew up at a time when communist China was increasingly isolated from the West, and his family didn't have much money when they were young.
Source: 60 Minutes, USA Today
Ma was scrawny and often got into fights with classmates. "I was never afraid of opponents who were bigger than I," he recalls in "Alibaba," a book by Liu Shiying and Martha Avery. Still, Ma had hobbies just like any other kid. He liked collecting crickets and making them fight, and was able to distinguish the size and type of cricket just by the sound it made.
Source: USA Today, Business Insider
After President Nixon visited Hangzhou in 1972, Ma's hometown became a tourist mecca. As a teenager, Ma started waking up early to visit the city's main hotel, offering visitors tours of the city in exchange for English lessons. The nickname "Jack" was given to him by a tourist he befriended.
Source: 60 Minutes
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