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Where is Jack Ma?

Days before his company embarked on a share listing, billionaire Jack Ma went missing.

On the eve of what would have been the world's largest share listing, Ant Financial founder Jack Ma, the Chinese billionaire mysteriously disappeared. Things started to go wrong for Ma after he told a room full of banking regulators that their methods were out of date and not fit for purpose. Shortly afterwards, the Chinese government cancelled the listing and Jack went silent. The extroverted charismatic billionaire, who once flourished in the public eye, simply did not show up at key events.

It is happening more and more often in China; some of the country's most famous and powerful people are disappearing after coming into conflict with the Communist Party. China's most famous actress, the Chinese head of the international police agency Interpol and even a top news presenter all disappeared.

So what has happened to Jack Ma? Journalist Celia Hatton, who spent 15 years living and reporting in China, investigates.

(Photo: Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba Group. Credit: Getty Images)

Available now

27 minutes

Last on

Sun 9 May 2021 04:32GMT

Broadcasts

  • Tue 4 May 2021 01:32GMT
  • Tue 4 May 2021 08:06GMT
  • Tue 4 May 2021 12:32GMT
  • Tue 4 May 2021 19:06GMT
  • Sun 9 May 2021 04:32GMT