Joe Tsai, the new chairman of Alibaba … the billionaire Taiwan-born lawyer, who is a crypto enthusiast, and owner the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets, was one of Alibaba’s 17 co-founders
June 22, 2023
Joe Tsai was one of 17 friends who were invited to Jack Ma’s Hangzhou apartment in February 1999, an evening where they developed a plan to create a new digital platform to “revolutionise the Internet industry”.
They called it Alibaba.
Tsai gave up a Hong Kong-based private equity investment job at Investor AB, which is the main investment vehicle of Sweden’s Wallenberg family, to join Alibaba in 1999 for a monthly salary of $50.
Today, the billionaire co-founder of Alibaba, and also owner of the Brooklyn Nets, is taking over as chairman of the e-commerce giant.
His challenge is huge. Alibaba has grown over the last 20 years to become one of the world’s largest retailers. But in recent times, since Jack Ma famously fell out with the Chinese government, the business has struggled. Amid rising competition, and the Covid pandemic, Alibaba’s market value has fallen by around 70%.
As part of a radical management shake-up, the 59-year-old Tsai is replacing Daniel Zhang as chairman. Eddie Wu, another cofounder, will be taking over as CEO from Zhang when he steps down in September 2023.
Zhang will focus on leading Alibaba’s cloud computing business as the unit prepares for an IPO that may happen as early as next year, according to recent Alibaba announcements.
Jack Ma, who is still China’s seventh-richest person with a net worth of $24 billion, stepped down from Alibaba’s helm in 2019, and has spent the recent years lying low and travelling abroad after his criticism of the country’s banking system in 2020, which led to his falling out with the Chinese government, and accelerated departure from Alibaba.
Tsai, who is a longtime confidante of Ma’s, will need to fight increasingly strong competition. Born in Taiwan, he also holds a Canadian passport, and prefers a relatively hands-off management approach.
The current $230 billion company, has lost more than 70% of its value since peaking in late 2020, as Beijing’s crackdown on the entire internet industry has caused investors to reassess Alibaba’s outlook. Meanwhile, competition has been tougher than ever – in particular, the fast-growing Pinduoduo, and short video platform Douyin.
Tsai becamee Alibaba’s chief financial officer, a position he held until 2013. He then moved to an executive vice chairman role, responsible in part for the e-commerce business’ financing activities and strategic investments.
Today, Tsai still derives part of his $7.7 billion net worth from a 1.3% stake in Alibaba.
He has also built a sports and entertainment empire. Tsai took full control of the Brooklyn Nets in a $2.35 billion deal in 2019 after first acquiring a 49% stake from Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov two years earlier. And his other sports franchises include ownership of the New York Liberty from the Women’s National Basketball Association, and two lacrosse teams, the San Diego Seals and Las Vegas Desert Dogs.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and East Asian Studies from Yale College and a juris doctor degree from Yale Law School. His early career experience includes an associate attorney job at New York-based law firm Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, and general counsel of New York-based buyout firm Rosecliff, Inc.
Now, a significant portion of his wealth is managed through his Hong Kong-based family office Blue Pool Capital, which holds stocks, venture capital investments and his sports assets.
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