Jack Ma, Joe Tsai Pledge “Chunks” Of Alibaba Shares, FT Reports

Jack Ma, Joe Tsai Pledge “Chunks” Of Alibaba Shares, FT Reports

A video recording of a livestream of Jack Ma addressing teachers at an annual event he hosts to ... [+] recognize rural educators on a laptop computer in January. Ma resurfaced after months out of public view that fueled intense speculation about the plight of the billionaire grappling with escalating scrutiny over his internet empire. Photographer: Justin Chin/Bloomberg Jack Ma, Alibaba's main founder, along with vice chairman and co-founder Joe Tsai have pledged "chunks" of their combined $35 billion holdings in the company, the Financial Times reported today, citing company documents. The pledges to banks including UBS and Goldman Sachs were made by offshore companies that control more than half of the two billionaires' stakes, the newspaper said. The two "have used the loans to unlock vast personal fortunes tied up in the group's shares," the FT said. Purchases by the two include private jets and real estate; the amounts of the pledges weren't disclosed, the FT said. Ma retired as executive chairman in 2019, but controversial remarks about China's banking system last year were seen as leading regulators to halt an IPO by Ma- and Alibaba-backed financial services firm Ant that would have been the world's largest offering. Tsai