The Alibaba cofounder Jack Ma was once the invincible poster boy ... Ma, whose birth name was Ma Yun, was born to a poor family in Hangzhou, China. He didn't excel in school.

Jack Ma — born Ma Yun — was born on October 15 ... communist China was increasingly isolated from the West, and his family didn't have much money when they were young. Ma was scrawny and ...

Here are five things to know about Jack Ma. Born to a poor family in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, Mr Ma began his career as an English teacher before becoming a self-made dotcom billionaire.