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Alibaba Founder Jack Ma Nearly Doubled His Wealth This Year - Here's His Inspiring Life Story

Madeline Stone,Jillian D'OnfroDec 17, 2014, 23:41 IST

Fresh off the biggest IPO in history, Alibaba founder and chairman Jack Ma is now the richest person in China.

Ma made more money that anyone else in the world this year. His wealth grew by $18.5 billion between December 2013 and December 2014, a whopping 173% increase.

He's now worth an estimated $29.2 billion, which includes his 7.8% stake in Alibaba and a nearly 50% stake in payment processing service Alipay.

Ma's is a true rags-to-riches story. He grew up poor in communist China, failed his college entrance exam twice, and was rejected from dozens of jobs, including one at KFC, before finding success with his third internet company, Alibaba.