But he has been lying low since October 2020, after giving a speech criticizing China's financial regulatory system.

His words angered the Chinese authorities, prompting intense regulatory scrutiny on his businesses, and a wider crackdown on tech firms the country.

The drive that intensified from 2020 has hit big tech as well as property firms, which were forced to reduce their debt levels, as authorities sought to control high home prices.

This weighed on Chinese tech and property firms, sending the net worth of the country's richest plunging.

Ma, who at his peak was worth about $61 billion in October 2020, is now worth about $30.7 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.