Jack Ma, the billionaire founder of Alibaba, disappeared from public view in 2020. New reports say he has been living in Tokyo for the past 6 months.

• The Financial Times reports that the founder of the Alibaba Group, Jack Ma, now lives in Tokyo.

• The once high-ranking Ma angered the Chinese authorities in 2020, and has since disappeared from public view.

• Ma is still laid back in Tokyo and mainly socializes inside private clubs.

He was one of the richest businessmen in China, Founder of Alibaba Group, Jack Ma He mostly disappeared from public view two years ago after a confrontation with the authorities. He has now reappeared in Tokyo, on financial times reported on Tuesday, citing people with direct knowledge of his whereabouts.

An outspoken teacher turned tech giant, Ma was once a high-profile aircraft designer and was the face of Big Tech in China. But it has been down since October 2020, after he gave a speech criticizing China’s financial regulation system.

his words angered the Chinese authorities, This led to intense regulatory scrutiny of its business, and more broadly Crackdown on tech companies Country.

There has been intense speculation about Ma’s whereabouts since he disappeared from the spotlight.

One of the latest sightings of the billionaire was in July this year, when he visited Wageningen University & Research In July, the Dutch foundation announced on its website.

Although he has been living in Tokyo for nearly half a year, Ma has kept a low profile in the city and mainly socializes inside several private members’ clubs, according to the FT. He also spends his time in Japan visiting hot springs and backcountry ski resorts with his family, according to the media.

While in Tokyo, Ma made regular trips to the US and tech hub Israel, according to the Financial Times.

Like China, Japan has had some of the toughest border controls in the world during the pandemic, however Visa-free travel resumed last month. In contrast, Covid lockdowns are still going on in China, which has led to Rare protests against the authorities last weekend.

Highlighting activities coincided with Beijing’s push for “shared prosperity” – A Concept That the rich should share their wealth with the poor to create a more equal society. The impulse that intensified from 2020 has also hit big tech real estate companies, which had to reduce its debt levels, as sought by the authorities Control high home prices.

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This affected Chinese technology and real estate companies, as it sent Net worth of the country’s richest people sink. Ma, who peaked at around $61 billion in October 2020, is now worth around $30.7 billion, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index. This is partly because Alibaba’s share price is down about 75% from its peak in 2020.

What step down as Alibaba boss In 2019. He is still a member of the board of directors of the Jack Ma Foundation, which he founded.

The organization did not immediately respond to an Insider’s request for comment.

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