The Jack Ma Foundation (JMF) is the

philanthropic Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

foundation of Chinese businessman

Jack Ma Ma Yun (; born 10 September 1964), or more commonly referred as Jack Ma, is a Chinese businessman and philanthropist. He is the founder of the Jack Ma Foundation, and co-founder of Alibaba Group and Yunfeng Capital. As of May 2025, Ma's ne ...

. It was established in 2014.

History

In September 2018, Ma announced that he would retire from the company he founded and the source of his wealth, internet merchandiser

Alibaba Ali Baba is a character from the folk tale "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves". Alibaba Group is a Chinese multinational internet technology company. Ali Baba or Alibaba may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Films * ''Ali Baba and the Forty T ...

, in order to pursue educational work, philanthropy, and environmental causes. In 2019, the JMF started the Netpreneur Initiative that grants 10 prizes of $1 million each to 10 African entrepreneurs per year and launched a fund with $14.6 million to develop education in

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...

. In 2020, the JMF was announced as one of the alliance partners of

Prince William William, Prince of Wales (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982), is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales. William was born during the reign of his p ...

Earthshot Prize The Earthshot Prize is a global environmental award that is rewarded to five winners each year for their contributions towards environmentalism. It was first awarded in 2021 and is planned to be awarded annually until 2030. Each winner receives ...

to find solutions to environmental issues. In January 2025, the JMF marked the 10th anniversary of the Rural Teachers Initiative, with Ma addressing a group of educators as a former teacher. He also accepted an honorary professorship from the

University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) is a public research university in Pokfulam, Hong Kong. It was founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese by the London Missionary Society and formally established as the University of ...

's business school in November 2024.

Coronavirus

In response to the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the Jack Ma Foundation announced its intention to donate a total of 500,000 testing kits and one million masks to the United States, stating "we join hands with Americans in these difficult times." The Foundation, along with the

Alibaba Group Alibaba Group Holding Limited, branded as Alibaba (), is a Chinese Multinational corporation, multinational technology company specializing in E-commerce in China, e-commerce, retail, Internet, and technology. Founded on 28 June 1999 in Hangzho ...

, also donated similar materials to Iran, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Japan, and South Korea. Ma also announced a donation of 1.1 million tests, six million masks, and 60,000 protective suits to all African countries to combat the pandemic. For instance, in Nigeria, senior health official Abdulaziz Abdullahi said that the country had received 100,000 face masks, 1,000 protective gowns, and 20,000 test kits. In March 2020, the JMF published ''Handbook of COVID-19 Prevention and Treatment'', a detailed 68-page book edited by Tingbo Liang that documents the clinical experience obtained at the First Affiliated Hospital of the

Zhejiang University School of Medicine Zhejiang University School of Medicine (ZJU Med; Traditional Chinese: 浙江大學醫學院; Simplified Chinese: 浙江大学医学院) is the medical school of Zhejiang University. Formerly known as Zhejiang Medical University, Zhejiang Provinci ...

in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. While Ma is a member of the

Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...

, some analysts nevertheless believe that the

Chinese government The government of the People's Republic of China is based on a system of people's congress within the parameters of a Unitary state, unitary communist state, in which the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) enacts its policies through people's ...

may view Ma's philanthropic efforts unfavorably.

External links

Homepage

References

{{authority control Jack Ma Biomedical research foundations Organizations established in 2018 2018 establishments in China Organizations associated with the COVID-19 pandemic