Alibaba Founder Jack Ma Leads a Surprisingly Humble Life

The humble beginnings of Chinese business tycoon Jack Ma, the founder of the company, Alibaba, are well known. Hailing from a very poor family, he had an urge to go big right from childhood. As a child, he visited hotels to offer free city tours to visitors in return for English lessons, signalling the start of a long and successful entrepreneurial journey.

Though he passed school and entered the Teacher’s Institute, he failed to secure a job upon completing his formal education. After Herculean efforts, he got a job teaching English. Without any knowledge about computers, he nursed an immense curiosity about it. Along with some friends, he started a Chinese internet company where exporters could search for any product they needed and never look back thereafter. He maintains a humble lifestyle and makes no flashy purchases. How does he spend his money?

Jack Ma’s Favourite Food

While celebs pine for expensive food like caviar or foie gras, Jack loves to savor Maggi Mee, a famous instant noodles brand that many people love. One of Ma’s employees shared a picture of Jack enjoying these noodles, relishing them for over 18 years. His $38-billion net-worth enables him to buy out many instant noodles manufacturers, but he happily eats a bowl of noodles for his meals.

His Morning Schedule

Successful people have amazing habits upon waking up in the morning and Ma is no different. He is up between 6 AM to 7 AM. After half an hour’s work, he spends much time with his family. He believes that we are born to enjoy life and not just work. We must make things better for one another, and not to labour. If you spend your whole life working, you certainly regret it. We totally agree!

Private Jet

He did buy his private jet, a Gulfstream G550 costing $49.5 million. Like many affluent celebrities, the aircraft was meant for personal use. It was rather convenient as in the world of business, he travelled a lot. A private jet enabled him to do so at his own convenience. We can wonder about the customization he did inside the jet, may a living room and possibly,  a personal bedroom?

A $191-Million House in Hong Kong

Some years back, Jack purchased a $191-million mansion in Hong Kong, located in the expensive billionaire enclave. Hong Kong also is the least affordable city in the world. However, Jack Ma rebutted the claims, proving that he is yet to spend millions for his personal comfort.

The Happiest Time in Life

Though being a billionaire changed his life-style for good, Jack Ma never forgets his humble beginnings, and discusses his pre-fame days, teaching English to University students with a pay of $12 a month, which he says, was the happiest time of his life, with less money, less responsibility but obviously not possible these days. He found joy in simplicity.

Though an affluent businessman, he is a well-known environmentalist, collaborating with various organizations. Having a lot of money made him think about his responsibility about spending wisely and not recklessly as wealth that people have entrusted in him, must be used in good ways. This explains his saint-like lifestyle and that there are still people like him around, restores faith in simple living!