Alibaba jack ma biography of barack obama president
Interested in internet entrepreneurship since the s, he founded his first business, Hangzhou Hope Translation Agency, in In , he co-founded Alibaba Group , initially as a B2B e-commerce marketplace and later expanded into a multinational technology conglomerate. Ma has been regarded as a leading figure and global ambassador of Chinese business.
His move to Japan in marked his retreat from the public spotlight.
Defying the odds Jack Ma spearheaded e-commerce in China.
At the age of 12, Ma bought a pocket radio and began listening to English radio stations frequently. For nine years, Ma rode 27 km 17 miles on his bicycle every day to work as a tour guide of Hangzhou for foreigners in order to practice his English. He became pen pals with one of those foreigners, who nicknamed him "Jack" because he found it hard to pronounce his Chinese name.
In his primary school days, Ma struggled academically, and it took two years for him to gain acceptance at an ordinary Chinese high school, as he only got 31 points in mathematics on the Chinese high school entrance exam.
The co-founder and executive chairman of multinational tech conglomerate Alibaba Group, Jack Ma is one of Asia’s best-known and wealthiest businessman, with a current net worth of .
In , while he was riding his bike to practice English with tourists, he met Ken Morley, who was traveling with his family with the Australia-China Friendship Society. Years later, the Morleys hosted Ma in Australia, changing the course of his life completely. Ma later said: "Those 29 days in Newcastle were crucial in my life. Without those 29 days, I would never have been able to think the way I do today.
In , at the age of 18, Ma failed the Chinese college entrance exam on his initial attempt, obtaining only 1 point in mathematics. Afterwards, he and his cousin applied to be waiters at a nearby hotel. His cousin was hired, but Ma was rejected on the grounds that he was "too skinny, too short, and in general, protruded a bad physical appearance that may have potentially ended up hurting the restaurant's image and possibly tarnishing its reputation.
In , Ma failed his college entrance exam for the second time. The following year, Ma remained relentlessly determined to pursue higher education despite strong opposition from his family, who wanted him to choose a different career path as an alternative option.