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23. Jack Ma
REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson
Title: Founder and CEO, Alibaba
Country: China
Age: 51
The second-richest person in China, Alibaba founder and CEO Jack Ma broke records with the e-commerce company’s $25 billion initial public offering in 2014 — the world’s largest ever. Post-IPO, however, Alibaba’s good fortune began to slip. The company’s shares dropped throughout 2015 and were down 25% through November, most likely in part because of China’s slowing economy and concerns over counterfeiters using the company’s platform.
Ma, who has a net worth of more than $25.6 billion, isn’t worried, though. Alibaba remains dominant in one of the world’s biggest markets, and he says the West’s concern over China’s economic slowdown is an “overreaction.” In fact, Ma believes China is in the midst of an economic transition — one Alibaba will no doubt help facilitate — and will come out stronger.
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