The Empire Jack Built

Jack Ma has comfortably sat at the top of the Chinese entrepreneur food chain for many years. In October 2020, things changed.
Credit: World Economic Forum / Sandra Blaser, Creative Commons

He is arguably the most successful businessman in Asia. Jack Ma built not one but two companies that topped $150 billion in market value — something only Elon Musk has done with Tesla and PayPal. And along the way, Ma (who Forbes estimates is worth $60 billion) also built a series of investment firms as well as a financial and entertainment empire that produces films, television programs, sells insurance and, several years ago, helped take control of one of the world's hottest mobile gaming st

Subscribe or login to read the rest.

Subscribers get full access to:

Exclusive longform investigative journalism, Q&As, news and analysis, and data on Chinese business elites and corporations. We publish China scoops you won't find anywhere else.
A weekly curated reading list on China from Andrew Peaple.
A daily roundup of China finance, business and economics headlines.

We offer discounts for groups, institutions and students. Go to our Subscriptions page for details.

Face-Off: U.S. vs. China

A podcast about the turbulent relationship between the world's two superpowers, the two men who run them, and the vital issues that affect us all.

US Ambassador Nicholas Burns recently served in Beijing for three years. In this episode of Face-Off: US vs. China, host Jane Perlez talks to Burns about how he got Americans out of Chinese jails, how security operatives stopped American cultural groups from performing, and how China agreed to limits on AI in nuclear weapons.

The Wire China

While the business world wonders where Jack Ma is, we asked another question: Who else in his circle should we be watching?

Tim Cook’s Biggest Gamble

Trump Cryptocurrency’s Big Investor Has Extensive China Ties
By Noah Berman

Henry Huiyao Wang on How China Views The Trade War
By Noah Berman

LISTEN NOW

Face-Off: U.S. vs. China
A podcast about the turbulent relationship between the world's two superpowers, the two men who run them, and the vital issues that affect us all.

The Wire China Archives

Trump Cryptocurrency’s Big Investor Has Extensive China Ties By Noah Berman

Henry Huiyao Wang on How China Views The Trade War By Noah Berman

Face-Off: U.S. vs. ChinaA podcast about the turbulent relationship between the world's two superpowers, the two men who run them, and the vital issues that affect us all.

The Wire China Archives

Trump Cryptocurrency’s Big Investor Has Extensive China Ties
By Noah Berman

Henry Huiyao Wang on How China Views The Trade War
By Noah Berman

Face-Off: U.S. vs. China
A podcast about the turbulent relationship between the world's two superpowers, the two men who run them, and the vital issues that affect us all.