Jack Ma is gearing up for one of his most significant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. stake reductions in recent years, and the timing couldn't be worse. The e-commerce giant's co-founder saw his wealth dip by $683 million after Alibaba's substantial selloff, just days ahead of Ma's planned share sale next week.
Alibaba's stock took a hit following the company's decision to abandon plans to spin off and list its $11 billion cloud business unit. This strategic shift, driven by increased US restrictions on chip sales to China, led to a 9% drop in the company's shares in New York trading.
As a result, Ma's net worth fell to $29.2 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, while Alibaba's chairman Joseph Tsai experienced a setback of about $261 million.
Also read/watch - Chinese President Xi Jinping dines with Tim Cook, Elon Musk and other top US business leaders
The 59-year-old Ma had previously revealed intentions to sell 10 million shares worth about $870 million on November 21, as per regulatory filings on Thursday. Two companies owned by Ma, JC Properties Ltd. and JSP Investment Ltd., are set to sell 5 million shares each, according to the filings.
Despite relinquishing all his roles in Alibaba in 2020, Ma has been gradually selling shares in recent years, and his stake in the business has now dipped below 5%.