Ma vs Kerimov

Alibaba Group and Polyus.

The differences

Forbes puts Jack Ma about $0.4B ahead of Suleiman Kerimov.Forbes figures from 9 Oct 2026 and 9 Oct 2026.
Jack Ma: co-founded it. Suleiman Kerimov: built it up.
Jack Ma is from China; Suleiman Kerimov is from Russia.

Put someone else on either side

Kerimov

Net worth, Forbes: $26.1BForbes, 9 Oct 2026; $25.7BForbes, 9 Oct 2026
Net worth, Bloomberg: $42BBloomberg, 10 Oct 2026; $10.2BBloomberg, 15 Oct 2026
Forbes rank: No. 91Real-Time list, 9 Oct 2026; No. 93Real-Time list, 9 Oct 2026
Billionaire since: Not stated; 2006Earliest Forbes list in the cited sources: No. 72 on the 2006 World's Richest People with $7.1 billion; an earlier listing isn't ruled out

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; Built it upBought control of the former state oil trader Nafta Moskva in 1998, then built stakes in Gazprom, Sberbank, Uralkali and Polyus
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; Proceeds of investments in Polyus and other Russian assetsForbes lists gold as his source of wealth
Companies: Alibaba Group, Ant GroupAlibaba Group: Partner in the Alibaba Partnership and partnership-committee continuity member; Ant Group: Founder; no management role; Polyus, Nafta MoskvaPolyus: None; Nafta Moskva: Owner
Biggest stake: Ant Group9.9% owned; PolyusStake not stated

Born: 10 Sep 1964Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; 12 Mar 1966Derbent, Dagestan, Russia
Country: ChinaLives in Hangzhou, China; RussiaLives in Moscow, Russia
Education: Bachelor's degreeBA in English, Hangzhou Teachers College (1988); Graduate degreeMaster of economics, Dagestan State University
Parents: His parents were traditional Chinese musician-storytellers in Hangzhou; Not stated

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; OwnerMember of Russia's Federation Council for Dagestan; owner of the Nafta Moscow group
Successor: Daniel Zhang succeeded him as Alibaba chairman on 10 September 2019; Not stated
Public office: Member, UK Prime Minister's Business Advisory Group; Special Adviser for Youth Entrepreneurship and Small Business, UNCTAD2015; 2016; Member of the State Duma; Member of the Federation Council, representing Dagestanfrom 1999; 2008-
Legal record: None found; 2018: US Treasury (OFAC); 2022: Council of the European Union; 2022: UK governmentDesignated on 6 April 2018 under Executive Order 13661 as an official of the Russian government; also listed under Executive Order 14024. Added to the EU sanctions list on 15 March 2022. Sanctioned by the UK in March 2022, per Forbes.