Jack Ma's wealth tumbles $1b in a day as Alibaba disappoints

By Anders Melin, Jack Witzig
Updated August 13 2015 - 10:14am, first published 9:24am

Billionaire Jack Ma's fortune declined $US752 million ($1.02 billion) on Wednesday after his Alibaba Group Holding dropped to the lowest level since China's biggest e-commerce operator went public in September.

Ma's net worth slid 2.4 per cent to $US31.2 billion as the company he founded declined 5.1 per cent to close at $US73.38 in New York. Alibaba's quarterly sales rose at the slowest pace in at least three years and transaction volumes missed analysts' estimates amid a weakening Chinese economy. Ma, 50, who has a 6.2 per cent stake in the company, is the world's 21st-richest person, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Alibaba has lost more than $US71 billion of its market value this year amid a saturation in the e-commerce market in China's larger, wealthier cities. China's economy is growing at the weakest pace since 1990, and Alibaba is facing lawsuits over counterfeits. The stock has never traded below $US68 a share, the price set in September's initial public offering, which raised a record $US25 billion.

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