Jack Ma’s wealth dips $4.1 billion, dragged by Ant’s reduced valuation
AP
Synopsis
Once China’s richest tech tycoon, Jack Ma may now be worth $30 billion, which is less than half of his peak wealth before the failure of the biggest IPO in history in 2020. Jack Ma’s 9.9 per cent stake in Ant Group Co is now estimated to be worth $4.1 billion less than almost a year ago, according to the latest update on Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
By ET Online
Chinese billionaire Jack Ma’s 9.9 per cent stake in Ant Group Co is now estimated to be worth $4.1 billion less than almost a year ago, according to the latest update on Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
News reports suggest that Chinese authorities are also likely to announce a fine of at least 8 billion yuan ($1.1 billion), one of the largest ever for an internet company in the country and it will wind up the company’s years-long regulatory overhaul.
The People's Bank of China (PBOC), which has been driving the revamp at Ant after its $37 billion IPO was scuttled in late 2020, is expected to disclose the fine in the coming days, the sources told Reuters.
Ma, a former English teacher founded Ant group in 2014. It undertakes payment processing, consumer lending and insurance products distribution, among other businesses. In mid-2020 before its IPO was pulled, it was valued by some investors at more than $300 billion which has now dropped to about $78.5 billion with Ant’s proposed share buy back.
He gave up controlling rights in Ant in January, retreating from his online empire following China’s unprecedented tech crackdown. Since April 2021, Ant has been formally undergoing a sweeping business restructuring, which includes turning itself into a financial holding company that would subject it to rules and capital requirements similar to those for banks.
Alibaba Group which was also founded by Jack Ma bore the brunt of Chinese regulators when it was fined record 18 billion yuan in 2021 for antitrust violations.
Alibaba reiterated that Ma’s direct and indirect economic interest in Ant Group “will be reduced over time” to a percentage that doesn’t exceed 8.8%.
The 58-year-old disappeared from the public eye in late 2020 after he gave a speech criticising China's regulatory system, an event considered as a trigger for the crackdown on industry.
He returned to his hometown of Hangzhou to visit a school in March after spending years traveling overseas.
Fidelity trimmed its valuation estimate for Ant to about $63.8 billion as of the end of November. The fintech giant recorded a 56% slump in quarterly profit in the three months ended December 31, a May regulatory filing shows.
Ma’s interest in Ant is based on his ownership in Hangzhou Junhan and Hangzhou Junao, two limited partnerships that mainly count Ant executives as shareholders, according to a Bloomberg analysis of the company’s 2020 IPO prospectus.
(With inputs from Bloomberg and other agencies)
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Ma is still China’s fifth-richest person, according to the Bloomberg index, which tracks the world’s 500 wealthiest people. Once China’s richest tech tycoon, Jack Ma may now be worth $30 billion, which is less than half of his peak wealth before the failure of the biggest IPO in history in 2020.News reports suggest that Chinese authorities are also likely to announce a fine of at least 8 billion yuan ($1.1 billion), one of the largest ever for an internet company in the country and it will wind up the company’s years-long regulatory overhaul.
The People's Bank of China (PBOC), which has been driving the revamp at Ant after its $37 billion IPO was scuttled in late 2020, is expected to disclose the fine in the coming days, the sources told Reuters.
Ma, a former English teacher founded Ant group in 2014. It undertakes payment processing, consumer lending and insurance products distribution, among other businesses. In mid-2020 before its IPO was pulled, it was valued by some investors at more than $300 billion which has now dropped to about $78.5 billion with Ant’s proposed share buy back.
He gave up controlling rights in Ant in January, retreating from his online empire following China’s unprecedented tech crackdown. Since April 2021, Ant has been formally undergoing a sweeping business restructuring, which includes turning itself into a financial holding company that would subject it to rules and capital requirements similar to those for banks.
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Alibaba Group which was also founded by Jack Ma bore the brunt of Chinese regulators when it was fined record 18 billion yuan in 2021 for antitrust violations.
Alibaba reiterated that Ma’s direct and indirect economic interest in Ant Group “will be reduced over time” to a percentage that doesn’t exceed 8.8%.
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The 58-year-old disappeared from the public eye in late 2020 after he gave a speech criticising China's regulatory system, an event considered as a trigger for the crackdown on industry.
He returned to his hometown of Hangzhou to visit a school in March after spending years traveling overseas.
ADVERTISEMENT
Fidelity trimmed its valuation estimate for Ant to about $63.8 billion as of the end of November. The fintech giant recorded a 56% slump in quarterly profit in the three months ended December 31, a May regulatory filing shows.
Ma’s interest in Ant is based on his ownership in Hangzhou Junhan and Hangzhou Junao, two limited partnerships that mainly count Ant executives as shareholders, according to a Bloomberg analysis of the company’s 2020 IPO prospectus.
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The buyback plan would allow Ant’s existing shareholders to sell as much as 7.6% of its equity interest, granting a way to cash out part of their investment. The individual limited partners of Junhan and Junao decided not to participate in the Ant buyback out of the long-term commitment to the company.(With inputs from Bloomberg and other agencies)
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