Conspiracy theorists believe that Jack Ma, the billionaire founder of Chinese tech giant Alibaba, who continues to remain untraceable for more than two months, is either dead or jailed by the Chinese government. Before going off the radar, Ma, while criticizing the regulation system of China, had called its banks 'pawnshops'.
As reported previously, the Chinese billionaire has also failed to appear in the final episode of his own talent show, Africa's Business Heroes, where Ma was replaced by another Alibaba executive. According to reports, Ma's photos were also removed from the judging webpage and he was conspicuously left out of a promotional video. An Alibaba spokesperson said Ma was unable to take part "due to a schedule conflict".
Is Jack Ma Dead After Speaking Out Against China?
During his last public speech in Shanghai in October, the clipping of which has gone viral on social media, Ma had called for widespread reforms. "Today's financial system is the legacy of the Industrial Age. We must set up a new one for the next generation and young people. We must reform the current system," Ma had said.
Following the controversial speech, Alibaba and Ant Group, a financial services company started by Ma, became the subject of Chinese government ire, leading to regulatory investigations, reported Daily News.
Social media was up with a number of conspiracy theories related to the Tech tycoon's disappearance including him being dead. "Jack Ma will be declared dead after a "suspected suicide" or "accident". #JustCCPThings," tweeted a user.
"Jack Ma the founder of Alibaba is probably dead rn because he criticized the chinese government," tweeted another.
"jack ma is probably in one of china's uighur concentration camps if i had to guess. if he isn't dead anyway," tweeted a user as another added, "Sorry to say, but Jack Ma is probably either dead or being force-fed brainwashing drugs."
Guo Wengui Prediction Video About Jack Ma Goes Viral
As conspiracy theories related to Ma's disappearance gained momentum, an old video of Guo Wengui, a Chinese billionaire, in which he predicted about Ma ending up either dead or jailed, resurfaced on social media.
In 2019, during an interview with Kyle Bass on Real Vision, Wengui had spoken spoke about how Ma's retirement could turn out.
On being asked what he thought was likely to happen to Ma in the next year or so, the exiled Chinese businessman said, "I think of him in only two ways. All the China's billionaire, only two ways. Jail and die. I think 50-50 percent. But the kill means to kill."
"Jack Ma is most likely dead. Sad, but true. No billionaire just disappears in China for 2 months," tweeted a user while sharing the video.
