Jack Ma, China’s most popular online retail magnate and is known as one of most sought-after business minds in the world. His leadership and business skills have taken Alibaba to stratospheric peaks. But on September 10, Ma would be retiring as the Executive Chairman of Alibaba and aimed at education and philanthropy. Ma celebrated his 54th birthday on this Monday which coincides with China’s Teacher’s Day.
As per The New York Times, Ma has decided to retire as the state’s interventions in private businesses have grown up, resulting in a “soured” trade environment. Internet in China is meant to be a controlled space and censorship has accelerated under the reign of paramount leader and President Xi Jinping.
Ma, who was an English teacher before turning entrepreneur, now plans to return to his former passion, education. In addition to that, his net worth stands slightly above $40 billion. He will proceed to be an advisor and a board member for Alibaba. The executive, known as “Teacher Ma”, also has a charitable foundation which goals in educating the rural Chinese. His absence from the business scene is also seen as a jolt to China’s business ecosystem notably after the arrest of Richard Liu, the builder of another e-retail giant of China, JD.com. 
