Jack Ma's voting rights in Ant Group reduced from 50% to 6% under government pressure, losing control of the company
In 2024, Ant Group announced changes to shareholder voting rights that reduced Jack Ma's voting control from 50% to 6%, meaning he was no longer the actual controller of Ant Group. The restructuring came as part of ongoing Chinese government pressure following the 2020 IPO cancellation. Ma replaced SoftBank as Alibaba's largest shareholder in early 2024 but continued to face government oversight.
1 source 1 confirming
Jack Ma · $37000.0M Nov 3, 2020 Xi Jinping personally blocked Ant Group's $37 billion IPO 36 hours before launch in retaliation for Jack Ma's regulatory criticism
On November 3, 2020, China's President Xi Jinping personally ordered regulators to suspend Ant Group's initial public offering, which was scheduled for November 5. The $37B deal would have been the world's largest-ever IPO, valuing Ant at $314 billion. The suspension came days after Jack Ma's October 24 speech criticizing financial regulators. Regulators summoned Ma and Ant executives, citing concerns about microlending practices. The decision was widely viewed as political retaliation.
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Jack Ma disappeared from public view for three months after Ant IPO cancellation, raising concerns about government detention or coercion
From November 2020 to late January 2021, Jack Ma was not seen in public following the cancellation of Ant Group's IPO and his criticism of Chinese regulators. His disappearance sparked international speculation about whether he had been detained, placed under house arrest, or coerced into silence. Ma stepped down from Alibaba's board on October 1, 2020, before the disappearance. He later moved to Tokyo in 2022, spending significant time outside China.
1 source 1 confirming
Jack Ma criticized Chinese financial regulators at Shanghai summit, calling banking system a 'pawn shop mentality' that stifles innovation
At an October 24, 2020 financial forum in Shanghai, Jack Ma publicly criticized China's regulatory system, saying banks had a 'pawn shop mentality' and that 'we cannot regulate the future with yesterday's means.' He stated 'There's no systemic financial risks in China because there's no financial systems in China. The risks are a lack of systems.' Chinese officials were reportedly 'furious' about the speech, which precipitated government crackdown on Ant Group and Alibaba.
1 source 1 confirming