Former Alibaba Chairman Jack Ma lives a comfortable life in a large mansion in Hakone, Japan

Alibaba founder Jack Ma, 58, is said to be in Hakone.

It was in late October, deep into autumn, that the editorial office received such information.

Jack Ma stepped down as chairman of Alibaba Group in September 2007 due to the Chinese government’s tightening of regulations. In October 2008, he gave a speech criticizing the Chinese government, and since then he has been out of the limelight.

Is it true that such a vanished millionaire is now living in one of Japan’s most prestigious vacation homes? FRIDAY began to ask around in the area. As it turned out, the rumors were true.

Ma is known to be a big sushi lover, and FRIDAY first went to talk to him at a sushi restaurant in Hakone that is said to be his favorite.

He started coming to the restaurant around 1919, and just recently I went there for a delivery. It was a magnificent villa. He likes toro (fatty tuna) and sea urchin, and sometimes asks for 10 pieces each.

Apparently, Ma rotates between famous sushi restaurants in the Hakone area, and after Corona, he uses a delivery service or takeout through the manager.

According to a local real estate agent.

“I heard that Jack Ma took over a villa originally owned by Masayoshi Son, 65, of Softbank Corp.

The local real estate agent said.

Based on this information, FRIDAY traced the property to a mansion in Hakone, an area frequented by celebrities. A check of the registry shows that the house was owned by Masayoshi Son’s company until 2004, after which the ownership was transferred to a company in the British Virgin Islands. It is a large mansion with a total floor area of over 2,000 m2, including the basement.

Mr. Sun is known for his early investment in Alibaba in its early days. After Alibaba grew into a global company, Ma became a director of SoftBank Group and Sun became a director of Alibaba Group, and the two have built a good relationship.

The SoftBank Group did not respond to FRIDAY’s inquiries by deadline, but further inquiries revealed that the two men had not been in contact with each other. However, upon further questioning, the manager of a nearby villa also testified.

I heard that it is the villa of the (former) president of Alibaba. He is not the president himself, but someone like an escort came to greet him.

When the FRIDAY reporter visited the villa, there was no sign of anyone coming or going, but a construction company’s car was parked at the entrance. Was it because there were people who would be using the house soon?

When I rang the intercom, the manager answered. I asked about the owner.

I asked him about the owner. I heard that a Chinese person had been here before as a visitor. …… I heard that the previous owner was Masayoshi Son, but the company owns it now, so I can’t say anything about it.

Chinese journalist Zhou Laiyu, who has been following Ma’s recent activities since his disappearance from the public eye, said, “The background to the tightening of the screws on Ma has been very difficult.

The Chinese government’s fear of Alibaba was behind the clampdown on Ma,” said Zhou Laiyu, a Chinese journalist. They wanted to nationalize the company, which had grown to become one of the world’s largest corporations, because they thought it might pose a threat to the regime. They might have negotiated Ma’s departure, even saying, ‘If you step back from running the company, we will not inconvenience you in the future. There were reports that he was locked up or detained by the Chinese government, but that is not true. The decision to step down was made by mutual agreement. It seems he is now traveling around overseas with his wife.”

There is no doubt that Jack Ma has been showing up at Hakone and enjoying sushi recently. Now that he is out of the business, he seems to be living a comfortable life, traveling around the world.

From the December 2 and 9, 2022 issues of FRIDAY