Ma vs Murdoch

Alibaba Group and News Corp.

The differences

Forbes puts Jack Ma about $1B ahead of Rupert Murdoch.Forbes figures from 9 Oct 2026 and 9 Oct 2026.
Jack Ma: co-founded it. Rupert Murdoch: inherited and grew it.
Rupert Murdoch is about 33 years older than Jack Ma.
Jack Ma is from China; Rupert Murdoch is from United States.
Jack Ma has held a public or government advisory role; Rupert Murdoch has none on record.

Put someone else on either side

Murdoch

Net worth, Forbes: $26.1BForbes, 9 Oct 2026; $25.1BForbes, 9 Oct 2026
Net worth, Bloomberg: $42BBloomberg, 10 Oct 2026; $20.7BBloomberg, 10 Oct 2026
Forbes rank: No. 91Real-Time list, 9 Oct 2026; No. 98Real-Time list, 9 Oct 2026
Billionaire since: Not stated; Not stated

How it started: Co-founded itAlibaba was founded in 1999 by 18 people led by Jack Ma; Ant Group grew out of Alipay, set up in 2004; Inherited and grew itInherited his father's interests in the Adelaide newspaper The News in 1952 and expanded News Limited into a global media business
Main source: Alibaba and Ant Group shares, dividends and share salesBloomberg: most of his wealth is accumulated cash from dividends and share sales of Alibaba and Ant Group; Family stakes in News Corp and Fox Corporation, held largely through LGC Holdco, plus cashBloomberg also counts real estate at purchase prices
Companies: Alibaba Group, Ant GroupAlibaba Group: Partner in the Alibaba Partnership and partnership-committee continuity member; Ant Group: Founder; no management role; News Corp, Fox CorporationNews Corp: Chairman emeritus; Fox Corporation: Chairman emeritus
Biggest stake: Ant Group9.9% owned; News CorpStake not stated

Born: 10 Sep 1964Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; 11 Mar 1931Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Country: ChinaLives in Hangzhou, China; United StatesLives in New York, New York, United States
Education: Bachelor's degreeBA in English, Hangzhou Teachers College (1988); Bachelor's degreeMA, Worcester College, University of Oxford (1953)
Parents: His parents were traditional Chinese musician-storytellers in Hangzhou; Father Sir Keith Murdoch was a journalist and newspaper publisher; mother Elisabeth Murdoch was a philanthropist

Giving Pledge: Not a signer; Not a signer
Foundation: Jack Ma FoundationFounded 15 December 2014; Not stated
Lifetime giving: $0.3BForbes, 2 Dec 2019. Forbes, citing Alibaba: the Jack Ma Foundation had 'distributed or pledged at least $300 million' since its founding; paid and pledged combined; Not stated

Role now: Founder, no executive rolePartner in the Alibaba Partnership; RetiredChairman emeritus of News Corp and Fox Corporation
Successor: Daniel Zhang succeeded him as Alibaba chairman on 10 September 2019; His son Lachlan Murdoch, chair of News Corp and executive chair and CEO of Fox Corporation
Public office: Member, UK Prime Minister's Business Advisory Group; Special Adviser for Youth Entrepreneurship and Small Business, UNCTAD2015; 2016; None found
Legal record: None found; 2024: Nevada probate commissioner (Second Judicial District Court)A probate commissioner rejected his attempt to amend the irrevocable Murdoch family trust and concluded that he and Lachlan Murdoch had acted in bad faith; the trust litigation was resolved in 2025.