Alibaba

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by Duncan Clark

Jack Ma, a guy from humble roots who began his career as an English teacher, developed and turned Alibaba into one of the world's largest firms, an e-commerce empire on which hundreds of millions of Chinese consumers rely, in little over a decade and a half. Alibaba's $25 billion initial public offering (IPO) in 2014 was the world's largest ever. Jack is an emblem for China's burgeoning private sector and the gatekeeper to hundreds of millions of middle class customers. He is a Rockefeller of his generation who is courted by CEOs and Presidents across the world.

Duncan Clark met Jack in the little flat where he established Alibaba in 1999. Clark draws on his own experience as an early advisor to Alibaba and two decades in China chronicling the Internet's impact on the country to create an authoritative, compelling narrative account of Alibaba's rise, with unprecedented access to a wealth of new material, including exclusive interviews.

How did Jack rise from poor beginnings and early setbacks to become a multibillion-dollar success with Alibaba? How did he outwit Chinese and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs? Is Alibaba able to keep its market share of 80%? Is there a limit to Alibaba's ambitions as it expands into banking and entertainment? What is the Chinese government's take on the country's rise? Will Alibaba continue to develop internationally, including in the United States?

Clark explores Alibaba's story in the context of China's historic economic and social transformations, shedding new light on an improbable business giant.