Joseph Tsai Net Worth USD: $10,830,000,000 - $11,970,000,000

2020 Mean Estimate USD:

$11,400,000,000

Joseph Tsai Biography

Joseph Tsai was born in Taipei, Taiwan the oldest of four children. His family had fled from mainland China to escape the communist party. When Joseph was 13, he went to the United States to attend Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. He then went to Yale University earning a bachelor's degree in economics and East Asian studies. Four years later in 1990 he earned a J.D from the Yale Law School.

Joseph’s first job after graduation was at of Sullivan & Cromwell a law firm. Shortly after, he became an attorney at the New York bar, then after three years at Sullivan’s oved to Rosecliff Inc to work in private equity as a vice president and general counsel. In 1995 he left the U.S. for Hong King, joining Investor AB, concentrating on Asian investments.

It was while working for Investor AB, at a meeting in Hangzhou in 1999 that his life would change forever. He met Jack Ma, after being introduced by a mutual friend. Joseph was impressed by Ma’s idea for an import and export marketplace, by his band o followers and his drive and enthusiasm. So much so, that he left his $700,000 job to work for Ma for $50 a month, serving as the COO and CFO.

He was the only one of the 18 co-founders with the relevant experience (and a Western education) so created the firms legal and financial structure single-handedly. In 2013 Joseph Tsai became the executive vice chairman of Alibaba. He was also the company’s second largest shareholder.

Though a resident of Hong Kong, Joseph is also a Canadian citizen. He is the owner of NBA side the Brooklyn Jets, and a large investor in Los Angeles FC, an MLS team.