Ma vs Lisin

Alibaba Group and NLMK.

The differences

Forbes puts Jack Ma about $0.6B ahead of Vladimir Lisin.Forbes figures from 9 Oct 2026 and 9 Oct 2026.
Jack Ma: co-founded it. Vladimir Lisin: built it up.
Vladimir Lisin is about 8 years older than Jack Ma.
Jack Ma is from China; Vladimir Lisin is from Russia.
Jack Ma has held a public or government advisory role; Vladimir Lisin has none on record.

Put someone else on either side

Lisin

Net worth, Forbes: $26.1BForbes, 9 Oct 2026; $25.5BForbes, 9 Oct 2026
Net worth, Bloomberg: $42BBloomberg, 10 Oct 2026; $21.2BBloomberg, 15 Oct 2026
Forbes rank: No. 91Real-Time list, 9 Oct 2026; No. 94Real-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; Built it upBecame NLMK chairman in 1998 and, using profits from metals trading, acquired about 90% of the company by 2004
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; NLMK stockBloomberg: most of his fortune is his 79.3% NLMK stake; he also owns First Port and the baby-food maker Progress
Companies: Alibaba Group, Ant GroupAlibaba Group: Partner in the Alibaba Partnership and partnership-committee continuity member; Ant Group: Founder; no management role; NLMKNLMK: Chairman of the board
Biggest stake: Ant Group9.9% owned; NLMK79.3% owned

Born: 10 Sep 1964Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; 6 May 1956Ivanovo, Russia
Country: ChinaLives in Hangzhou, China; RussiaLives in Moscow, Russia
Education: Bachelor's degreeBA in English, Hangzhou Teachers College (1988); Graduate degreeDoctorate, Russian Academy of Economics; degree from the Siberian Metallurgical Institute (1979)
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; Chair of the boardChairman of NLMK's board
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; None found
Legal record: None found; None found