November 26, 2007 4:44

Jack Ma's New Pad

Three weeks after the online business-to-business giant Alibaba’s $1.7 billion IPO in Hong Kong, company founder and chairman Jack Ma (马云) has set another record by spending $38 million USD on a 7,000 sq. ft. penthouse (that’s about $5,400 per square foot) in Branksome Crest, a luxury apartment building in Hong Kong’s Mid-Levels district. According to The Standard, Ma’s five-bedroom duplex has set a new record for property prices in all of Asia. Pre-IPO, Ma’s $900 million earned him 76th place on this year’s Forbes list of China’s 400 richest people (published just days before the IPO). Hey, there’s always next year: post-IPO, Ma’s personal net worth is now an estimated $1.6 billion, putting him on par with China’s top 50 fat cats (大款).