Alibaba cofounder Jack Ma - the richest man in China - once starred in a kung fu movie his company produced. Here are 6 of his most extravagant moments.

Advertisement
Alibaba cofounder Jack Ma - the richest man in China - once starred in a kung fu movie his company produced. Here are 6 of his most extravagant moments.

Advertisement
Alibaba jack ma retirement party

Courtesy of Alibaba

Alibaba cofounder Jack Ma starred in a kung fu film produced by the company in 2017.

Jack Ma is "the most flamboyant tech founder on the planet," Business Insider's Sinead Baker recently wrote.

To celebrate the end of his 20 years leading the online marketplace, Ma celebrated his retirement with a 60,000-person retirement party in an Olympic-sized stadium.

Read more: Alibaba cofounder Jack Ma - the richest person in China - is retiring with a net worth of $38 billion. Here's his incredible rags-to-riches story.

The days of seeing one of Alibaba's top executives act in a film and officiate weddings may be over, however. Ma's successor, Alibaba CEO Daniel Zhang, keeps such a low profile that an employee's parent once mistook him for a janitor in Alibaba's headquarters, according to Bloomberg.

Advertisement

Keep reading to learn more about the most extravagant moments of Jack Ma's time at Alibaba.

Get the latest Alibaba stock price here.

{{}}

Every year, Ma officiates a mass wedding for Alibaba employees in May.

Every year, Ma officiates a mass wedding for Alibaba employees in May.

At celebrations for "Ali Day" — the company's annual extravaganza in honor of the company's employees and their families — Ma always "marries" 102 couples that work for him, Business Insider previously reported.

The 2019 event was live-streamed on Youku, a video-sharing service owned by Alibaba. Ma drew criticism after encouraging the couples to have lots of sex and bear children.

The wedding isn't a legal ceremony, but rather a celebration of all the Alibaba couples who have gotten married over the past year.

Read more: Inside Alibaba's bizarre mass wedding for employees, which is presided over by Jack Ma

At Alibaba's 2017 annual party, Ma put on a performance while dressed as Micheal Jackson.

Ma danced to a medley featuring clips from "Billie Jean" and "Dangerous" while wearing Jackson's iconic "Dangerous" costume, a video of the performance on Twitter shows.

Mid performance, Ma removed his mask to reveal his identity to the audience, who went wild.

Read more: Jack Ma, one of China's richest men, danced on stage to Michael Jackson in front of thousands of employees at a company party

Jack Ma performs Michael Jackson dance on 2017 Alibaba Annual Party🤣 pic.twitter.com/TAThZbFxrc

— Yicai Global 第一财经 (@yicaichina) September 11, 2017
Advertisement

He also took to the stage at a music festival in October 2017, where he and Chinese singer Li Jian performed for the audience.

He also took to the stage at a music festival in October 2017, where he and Chinese singer Li Jian performed for the audience.

As Business Insider's Joe Ciolli reported in 2017, the festival was part of the Alibaba Cloud-hosted Computing Conference. Ma took to the stage in jeans and sunglasses and sang a combination of duets and solos.

The performance was a surprise to the audience, Business Insider previously reported.

Read more: Watch billionaire Jack Ma sing his heart out during a surprise performance at a music festival

Alibaba produced a kung fu movie in 2017 — and Ma starred in it.

Alibaba produced a kung fu movie in 2017 — and Ma starred in it.

In the 20-minute film, Ma battles eight attackers with his tai chi skills, Business Insider previously reported. Over 100 million people watched the film online.

Read more: Billionaire Alibaba CEO Jack Ma is the star of an ultra-popular kung fu film

Advertisement

And then, of course, there was Alibaba's 60,000-person party in September 2019, which simultaneously celebrated Alibaba's 20-year anniversary and Jack Ma's retirement.

And then, of course, there was Alibaba's 60,000-person party in September 2019, which simultaneously celebrated Alibaba's 20-year anniversary and Jack Ma's retirement.

The party was held in an Olympic stadium and featured a procession of employees reminiscent of "the Olympic Games' Parade of Nations," according to The Wall Street Journal.

Ma performed a rendition of Josh Groban's "You Raise Me Up" with a group of senior executives on a portable stage that was pulled around the arena, the Journal reported.

Read more: Inside Jack Ma's 60,000-person retirement party, which was held in an Olympic stadium and featured employee performances that made Ma cry

After the party, Ma gifted each Alibaba employee a bottle of chardonnay featuring a hologram of himself.

According to the Drinks Business, every employee — including interns — was given one of these bottles.

The wine was made at Ma's winery in France — a close look at the bottle's label in the video above shows the name of his winery.

To activate the hologram, recipients scan a QR code on their phone and then slide the device into a drawer in the box to make the bottle light up with a hologram of Ma, a video of the gift posted to Twitter shows. Ma delivers a brief message before dissolving into flames.

Jack Ma's special message in a bottle. Gift to #Alibaba staff for the company's 20th anniversary. pic.twitter.com/U0AOAj8RXY

— Matthew Brennan (@mbrennanchina) September 12, 2019
Advertisement