Where’s Chinese billionaire Jack Ma? He hasn’t been seen in public for more than two months—and speculation is mounting.
He even missed his own talent show—Africa Business Heroes, which is styled like The Apprentice TV show.
He was supposed to be part of a judging panel in the November final. Instead, an Alibaba executive replaced him, and his picture was removed from the show’s website. A spokesperson said he missed it because of a scheduling conflict.
It comes after Ma gave a speech in October, criticizing China’s regulation system for stifling innovation.
Just over a week later, Jack Ma’s IPO for his company Ant Group—which was set to be the biggest IPO ever at $37 billion dollars—was suspended from the Shanghai stock exchange.
The exchange said it was because Ant Group reported “significant issues”—like changes in the regulatory environment.
Then in December, Chinese authorities told Ant Group to restructure its operations. They also launched an anti-monopoly probe into Alibaba.
Although Jack Ma stepped down as the company’s chairman in 2019, he’s still one of its largest shareholders.
