Ma, who cannot write in code and professes not to understand technology, is now arguably China's richest man, worth around $20 billion (£12.3bn).
The company's reach into China society is extensive – it has large stakes China's version of Twitter, Sina Weibo and YouTube-style video site Youku Tudou.
It already owns 50 per cent of China's most successful football club, Guangzhou Evergrande and is setting up its own film company in Hong Kong.
Such is the company's reach, that it invented the world’s biggest online shopping holiday, Singles Day, a version of Valentine's Day for people without romantic partners.
Last month, Alibaba filed for an initial public offering in New York , and some analysts have given it a valuation of up to $245bn (£150bn), which would make it biggest market debut by any company in history.
Despite this a recent Ipsos poll showed 88 per cent of Americans have never even heard of Alibaba.
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