TIL Desk/Business/New York/ Alibaba co-founder and chairman Jack Ma plans to retire from the Chinese e-commerce giant on Monday to devote his time to philanthropy focused on education, he told in an interview.
Ma was an English teacher before starting Alibaba in 1999 and built it into a multibillion-dollar internet colossus, becoming one of the world’s richest men and a revered figure in his homeland.
His own worth has soared along with that of the company, which was valued at $420.8 billion based on its share price at the close of trade on Friday.
Ma told that he plans to step down from the company on Monday — his 54th birthday — referring to his departure as “the beginning of an era” rather than an end. Ma, who gave up the title of CEO in 2013, said he now planned to devote his time and fortune to education.
