Ma.jpg (Photo : Reuters)
vAlongside the protesters of the Michael Brown police shooting in Ferguson, Missouri, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Alibaba mogul Jack Ma was shortlisted as runner-up in the 2014 Person of the Year accolade, awarded by the prestigious TIME magazine.
Run annually by the American publication since 1927, the distinction features the winner on the cover page of an issue of TIME that is dedicated to the individual's achievements.
The recognition comes at the end of a major year for Ma, as he led the most valuable IPO in history several months ago, when the Alibaba Group managed to raise $25 billion—the astounding figure is a little over Ma's current worth of $19.5 billion.
Aged 50, Ma has also expanded beyond China's borders this year with a host of investments in U.S. startups. The New York-based luxury goods platform 1stdibs was the first company to finalize an arrangement with Ma. This was followed in March by a $215-million investment in Californian communication company Tango.
The pace of Ma's investment activity did not slow down, as Alibaba then assisted Peel, a TV-control app maker, with a reported $5-million contribution, followed by $120-million investment in Kabam, a video-game startup, the next month.
Finally, in October, Silicon Valley's Quixey entered into a deal with Ma's corporation.
The TIME announcement was made on television networks on Wednesday morning by the publication's managing editor, Nancy Gibbs. Gibbs declared the winner to be those who continue to fight the deadly Ebola virus in Western Africa.
