Despite having stepped down from his position in the company he had started, Alibaba founder Jack Ma still continues to be an icon in the business world.
His contributions to the industry as well as his establishment of the world's largest e-commerce company has now been recognized by Forbes, which has awarded the Chinese entrepreneur with the coveted Lifetime Achievement Award.
The 55-year old business magnate was given the award at the high-profile Forbes Global CEO Conference in Singapore on Tuesday. Ma was given the Malcolm S. Forbes Lifetime Achievement Award, an award that honored his tenacious entrepreneurship and business aptitude. Ma is reportedly the first internet entrepreneur to win the award since it was first established more than 13 years ago.
The awarding ceremony was a significant event given that this year marks the 100th birthday of Forbes' founder Malcolm Forbes. The business magazine's media chair and editor-in-chief, Steve Forbes, mentioned during the event that the prize given to Ma is of great significance as it does coincide with the magazine founder's centennial celebration.
The magazine's editor-in-chief praised Ma for his contributions to the business world. He also mentioned that Ma was perhaps one of the greatest businessmen in today's world and in history. Apart from creating the world's largest e-commerce platform, Ma was also credited with promoting the boom in global small and micro-scale enterprises.
Ma first appeared on the magazine in 2000, when he was listed as one of the world's most powerful people. In that issue, Forbes had mentioned that Ma had essentially changed the business world by allowing smaller businesses and establishments to do business at a much larger scale more easily through the platform he had created.
Since then, the business that Ma had established has grown to become Asia's most valuable listed company. Alibaba currently has a market capitalization of around $460 billion. The company employs hundreds of thousands of people through its various subsidiaries that deal in industries such as e-commerce, financial services, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence.
Forbes' Lifetime Achievement Award is not the first international recognition that Ma has received since his retirement. Last month, Ma received a medal from Belgium's King Philip, honoring his business spirit and entrepreneurship. Many of Ma's fans and his own employees believe that he should be receiving more awards and recognition in the future given his many pursuits after retirement.
Apart from his business pursuits, Ma is well known for his philanthropic work. The Chinese billionaire is the founder of the Jack Ma Foundation, a non-profit organization that aims to address China's education, environment, and public health issues.
