Jack Ma: tycoon who soared on China’s tech dreams grounded by regulators

Jack Ma, the unconventional billionaire founder of tech giant Alibaba and the totem of China’s entrepreneurial brilliance, has stepped out of the limelight since a Communist Party crackdown that chopped back his empire. The most recognisable face in Asian business, Ma has seen his fortune fall by around half to an estimated $25 billion after authorities pulled what would then have been the world’s biggest-ever IPO in 2020. Chinese regulators torched the planned listing of Ma’s Ant Group in Hong Kong and Shanghai, and the following year hit Alibaba with a record $2.75 billion fine for alleged unfair practices. A…