Jack Ma: 14 Amazing Facts About Alibaba's Co-Founder

Jack Ma is one of the richest people in China, and his way to the top has been a long and tough journey.

A business magnate and philanthropist, Jack Ma is the cofounder of Alibaba, a conglomerate that's focused on technology, artificial intelligence, retail, e-commerce, and the internet. If that leaves a lot to the imagination, think something along the lines of a combination of eBay and Amazon.

Something as impressive as starting a company and turning it into one as big as Alibaba naturally spark the interest of many. Getting a closer look at Ma's history and tidbits about him could be just the thing to know more about how it came to be.

As of this writing, he's behind only Tencent Holding's CEO and chairman Ma Huateng, making him the second richest in China, according to Forbes. On the international stage, he's in the 20th spot.

Beyond his home country of China, Ma may not be a household name such as Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Mark Zuckerberg, or Jeff Bezos just yet. However, all that has been changing since his accomplishments and whatnot have made their way to the worldwide scene.

For starters, Alibaba shares opened at $92.70 per piece, which is the biggest initial public offering or IPO in the history of the United States.

Now to whet the appetite: his real name is Ma Yun. That's just one of the many amazing facts about Ma, and there's a lot more to find out.