Chinese Billionaire Jack Ma Has Disappeared

Rumors are circulating over the whereabouts of one of China’s most wealthiest men, Jack Ma.

Recently several Western media outlets have reported the disappearance of Ma, who is the country’s most prominent businessman, and the co-founder of e-commerce and entertainment giant Alibaba.

According to some reports, Ma hasn’t been seen in public for two months.

Ma is still the controlling shareholder of Ant Group, a fintech spinoff from Alibaba that last November was expected to launch the biggest IPO in history.

Before the scheduled IPO could happen, Ma had openly criticized finance industry regulators and China’s state-owned banks. The IPO had been halted just two days before the new shares were due to start trading in Hong Kong.

Ant Group said in regulatory filings in 2020 that Ma has “ultimate control” over the company, and his personal wealth was expected to balloon after the public offering.

The Financial Times had reported that Ma had disappeared as the face of African reality show “Africa’s Business Heroes,” in which he served on the judging panel.

On Oct. 12, Ma said he was looking forward to meeting the finalists during the online finale on Nov. 14.

“Regarding the ‘Africa’s Business Heroes’ competition, Mr. Ma had to miss the finale due to a schedule conflict,” a spokesman said by email to Yahoo Finance.

In previous iterations of the show, contestants pitched business ideas directly to Ma and competed for financial prizes provided by the charitable Jack Ma Foundation. The Financial Times also said that Ma had not been seen in public since his run in with the regulators.

“What we need is to build a healthy financial system, not systematic financial risks,” said Ma. “To innovate without risks is to kill innovation. There’s no innovation without risks in the world.”

In mid-December, Bloomberg reported that Ma had been advised not to travel abroad.

Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.