Billionaire Jack Ma, one of China’s richest men and the founder of e-commerce giant Alibaba, is suspected missing since he has not made a public appearance in more than two months, according to a report from Yahoo Finance.
Ma’s reported disappearance comes after he called for economic reform in an Oct. 24 speech in Shanghai, according to Yahoo Finance.
“Today’s financial system is the legacy of the Industrial Age,” Ma said according to Yahoo Finance. “We must set up a new one for the next generation and young people. We must reform the current system.”
Ma was supposed to take part in the November finale episode of his show “Africa’s Business Heroes,” a competition for African entrepreneurs, but was replaced by an Alibaba executive, Yahoo Finance reported.
Both Alibaba and Ant Group, the financial services company he spun off of Alibaba, came under the scrutiny of the Chinese government after Ma’s speech. Alibaba is facing an antitrust investigation launched in December, while Ant Group’s IPO was suspended and the business was told to restructure, according to Yahoo Finance.
Ma, whose fortune is estimated at $58.4 billion, committed millions of dollars to fighting the coronavirus pandemic. In the spring, he said he would give $14.4 million from his foundation toward funding the vaccine development for coronavirus in Wuhan. Ma also committed an additional $2.15 million toward developing a vaccine at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity in Australia.
