Only recently did the world take note of the fact that Alibaba's founder and China's third-richest man has been missing, after the final episode of his own TV show 'Africa’s Business Heroes' was aired without him attending;sparking questions over his whereabouts and whether or not he has been arrested by the Chinese authorities over recent criticism of their policies.
WARNING: If the Chinese Communist Party can 'disappear' one of the world's wealthiest men no one is safe. Billionaire Jack Ma is now missing and China isn't saying anything. The CCP has the Biden's in their pocket and I suspect Joe is rightly afraid.https://t.co/ALIu39YMxA
— @amuse (@amuse) January 3, 2021
Despite being labeled as the Chinese business star, whose success might have been whitewashing the Chinese communist political regime, Jack Ma, also known in China as Daddy Ma, has been absent from the public eye since last October.
Since then, the Chinese billionaire who has founded the Chinese Amazon-like e-commerce empire has been reported to have major financial and legal troubles, all related to his fintech Ant Group, including news of him offering "any of the group's platforms to the government" after officials have already pulled a $37 billion-worth IPO.
He's been missing for > 2 months?!
— Austin Rief ☕️ (@austin_rief) January 4, 2021
Really shows the difference in China v. U.S media.
If Bezos missed lunch it'd be on the cover of the NYT the next morning. https://t.co/93O1KDPwzS
NEW - Alibaba founder and Chinese billionaire Jack Ma has "not been seen in public" since he criticised China's regulators and its state-owned banks two months ago.
— Disclose.tv ? (@disclosetv) January 3, 2021
These developments have been greatly linked to statements Ma had made publicly, shunning the Chinese financial regularly system, which according to many analysts, may have urged the Chinese president Xi Jinping to personally order "digging dirt on his own "poster boy."
Most recently, the Chinese businessman was reported to have lost his rank as Asia's richest man, slipping into China's third-richest person.
So the richest or 3rd richest man in China @JackMa 's last tweet is October 10th
— Pete Quily (@pqpolitics) January 4, 2021
It's Jan 3rd. No dissent allowed in #EmperorForLifeXi Jinping's dictatorship, China #JackMaKidnappedhttps://t.co/Lh5ZC3Ods6
Reacting to news of Ma's possible disappearance, social media users noted that the well-known internet star was used to tweeting several times a day, an activity that has been completely halted since the 10th of October 2020, expressing their concern that he might be arrested or jailed by the Chinese authorities, paying the price of his criticism of their financial policies.
Don't worry you guys, I hear he's just relaxing in the Riyadh Ritz Carlton https://t.co/U2sCt7if2S
— Quantian (@quantian1) January 4, 2021
Some commentators went on to point out the irony in the possible detention of Jack Ma, remembering the 2017 Saudi crackdown on the country's wealthiest businessmen, holding them for several months in the capital city's fanciest hotel; the Ritz Carlton, before they were released upon giving up millions of dollars to avoid prosecution over possible corruption.
