Last Updated:June 20, 2025, 18:11 IST
Jack Ma, born in 1964 in Hangzhou, China, faced over 30 job rejections and academic setbacks before founding Alibaba in 1999
After college, Jack Ma aimed for Harvard ten times, and got rejected each time.
In a world where failure often breaks the spirit of many, Chinese billionaire Jack Ma stands tall as a testament to perseverance. Today, his net worth is estimated at $27.2 billion (Rs 2.3 lakh crore), according to Forbes. But this wealth didn’t come easy. In fact, it came despite over 30 job rejections, repeated academic setbacks, and global ridicule. Ma’s story is one of grit, vision, and unshakable belief in oneself – proof that setbacks can fuel the greatest of comebacks.
Born on September 10, 1964, in Hangzhou, China, Jack Ma grew up in modest circumstances. His parents were traditional performers – musicians and storytellers – during a time when China was under strict communist rule. From an early age, Ma showed a determination to rise above his situation. Though financially strained, he had an extraordinary fascination with English.
Each morning, rain or shine, he pedaled to the Shangri-La Hotel to offer free tours to foreign visitors, just to practice English. He kept this up for nine years.
While his spoken English improved, his academic journey was rocky. He failed school multiple times, struggled with math, and was rejected twice before securing a spot at Hangzhou Teachers Institute. He graduated in 1988 with a degree in English but had no idea that the real education, the school of hard knocks, was just beginning.
After college, Ma aimed for Harvard ten times, and got rejected each time. “Maybe one day I’ll go there to teach,” he once quipped with characteristic charm. Job hunting brought more heartbreak. He applied to more than 30 companies and was turned down by every single one. When KFC launched in China, 24 people applied. Twenty-three were hired. The lone rejection? Jack Ma.
Even police and hotel jobs passed on him. Eventually, he became an English teacher at a local college for just $12 a month.
A 1995 business trip to the US changed everything. There, Ma saw the internet for the first time. He searched “beer” online – finding pages about American and German brands, but not a single mention of China. The same happened when he searched “China”. That digital invisibility struck him.
Sensing opportunity, he launched “Habo Translation Agency”, which failed. Then came “China Pages”, an online business directory. It too fizzled. But Ma kept going.
The Birth Of Alibaba
In 1999, Ma gathered 17 friends in his apartment and pitched an idea that would transform global commerce. He wanted to create “Alibaba”, a platform connecting Chinese small businesses to the global market. The internet in China was still a novelty, and e-commerce was barely understood. Silicon Valley investors rejected his proposals over 100 times.
For three years, Alibaba operated without profit. The company teetered on the brink of collapse. But Ma wasn’t deterred. He adopted a simple but revolutionary principle: “Customers first, employees second, investors third” was the motive. It worked.
In 2000, Japanese billionaire Masayoshi Son of SoftBank invested $20 million in Alibaba. It was the break Ma needed. Then, in 2005, Yahoo poured in $1 billion for a stake in the company. Alibaba’s fortunes skyrocketed.
By 2014, the company launched its IPO on the New York Stock Exchange. Raising $21.8 billion, it became the largest IPO in history at the time. Today, Alibaba is valued at over $500 billion, and its influence spans e-commerce, digital payments, logistics, and cloud computing.
Jack Ma, who doesn’t know how to code, had created one of the world’s biggest tech companies.
Ma stepped down as Alibaba’s chairman in 2019. He now devotes his time to philanthropy through the Jack Ma Foundation, focusing on education, rural development, and environmental causes. But his business legacy endures.
As of 2025, Ma derives 70-80% of his income from his 4% stake in Alibaba Group. Another 15-20% comes from his 9.9% stake in Ant Group, the financial services giant behind Alipay. He also invests through Yunfeng Capital and other ventures.
Together, Alibaba Group and Ant Group employ over 2,21,000 people.
Jack Ma’s story isn’t about a genius with a silver spoon. It’s about a man who was repeatedly told he wasn’t good enough – by schools, employers, even investors – but who refused to listen. He transformed rejection into motivation.
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