Alibaba's Jack Ma becomes Asia's richest man

03:45, 28 April 2016

BEIJING. KAZINFORM - Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. Chairman Jack Ma overtook Dalian Wanda Group Co.'s Wang Jianlin as Asia's richest man after the e-commerce giant's financial affiliate raised a record amount in its latest round of fundraising, Bloomberg reports.

Ma added $4.3 billion to his fortune on Tuesday after his Ant Financial's latest deal, expanding his wealth to $33.3 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. That puts him ahead of Wang's $32.7 billion and Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing's $29.5 billion.
Ma's lead among Asia's billionaires could be short lived as Wang reorganizes his entertainment business and seeks to relocate his property unit's listing in search of higher valuations in mainland China -- deals that could affect the property-to-entertainment mogul's fortune.
Alibaba's billionaire chairman owns 6.3 percent of Alibaba and 37.9 percent of Ant Financial, whose full name is Zhejiang Ant Small & Micro Financial Services Group Co., after the fundraising. Ma is also said to be planning to take Ant Financial public in what could be China's largest IPO since 2010.

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