Chinese billionaire Jack Ma goes missing after calling for reforms: reports
Jack Ma, the billionaire founder of Chinese tech giant Alibaba, has not been seen in public for two months and is feared missing after calling for economic reforms, according to reports.
According to Yahoo Finance, Ma called for the reforms during a speech in Shanghai in October, the last time he appeared in public.
“Today’s financial system is the legacy of the Industrial Age,” Ma reportedly said. “We must set up a new one for the next generation and young people. We must reform the current system.”
Ma’s last public post on Weibo, the Chinese social media platform, was criticized as “capitalist,” by some detractors, an indication that public opinion against the billionaire has shifted.
Following the speech, Alibaba and Ant Group, a financial services company started by Ma, became the subjects of Chinese government regulators’ investigations.
Ma was scheduled to appear on a TV show in November but was replaced by another Alibaba executive.
News of Ma’s public absences caused Alibaba stock to drop 3% on Monday.
According to Business Insider, several Chinese billionaires have gone missing, with some feared to have been taken to secret prisons, after sparring with government regulators and criticizing the Communist Party. In many instances, the disappearances have been followed by the government taking a larger share of the moguls’ businesses.
