Returning to the Jianghu at the age of 59, the man behind Jack Ma cannot hide anymore

On June 20, Alibaba announced that Joseph Tsai would replace Zhang Yong as the chairman of the board of directors of Alibaba Holding Group from September 10.This adjustment came a bit sudden, but it's not surprisingOn June 20th, Alibaba suddenly announced a change of command

On June 20, Alibaba announced that Joseph Tsai would replace Zhang Yong as the chairman of the board of directors of Alibaba Holding Group from September 10.

This adjustment came a bit sudden, but it's not surprising

On June 20th, Alibaba suddenly announced a change of command.


Joseph Tsai will succeed Zhang Yong as chairman of the board of directors of Alibaba Holding Group.


Zhang Yong (first from left), Joseph Tsai (first from right) and Wu Yongming officially handed over


As soon as the news came out, some rookie employees ran into Joseph Tsai, the new chairman of rookie group, in the office area.


He had a smile on his face and a brisk pace, clearly entering a working state.




It has to be said that Boss Cai is too diligent.



As one of the founders of Ali, Joseph Tsai has always kept a low profile. Until 2019, he personally acquired the NBA Basketball Nets for $3 billion, becomingThe first Chinese owner of the NBA was only well-known to basketball fans.


At the age of 59, he is highly disciplined among business leaders in terms of appearance and body management.



As the 19th employee of Ali, Joseph Tsai was a little late, but in terms of contribution, he can be called "the elder among the elders".


He is the only permanent partner of Alibaba besides Jack Ma;


It is also the largest natural person shareholder after Jack Ma and Alibaba.


Unlike Ma Yun, Joseph Tsai seldom talks at ordinary times. But at every critical moment, he always speaks up and turns the tide.



Boss Cai, calm and transparent are terrifying.



This is the common view of many insiders on Joseph Tsai.


What is the origin of this top-notch tycoon, who is full of dual merchants and deeply hidden?




Shou Zi Chew, CEO of TikTok, who wrote about unifying the global aesthetic of intellectual love, said that many netizens:



Joseph Tsai is much like Shou Zi Chew of the middle-aged and elderly version.



At first glance, the two of them do seem somewhat similar in appearance and temperament.


Joseph Tsai vs Shou Zi Chew (right)


Shou Zi Chew is also a top investor. He is from an ordinary middle class family and is trying his best to achieve the ultimate goal of career growth. Joseph Tsai's excellent family background and knowledge are based on the achievements of elite education of two generations.


Joseph Tsai was born into a legal family. In his early years, his grandfather, Cai Liucheng, had done legal consulting for Du Yuesheng, and his father, Cai Zhong, was the first Doctor of Law of Yale University in Taiwan.


A law firm co founded by my grandfather and father, it is still one of the top law firms in Taiwan.


At the age of 13, Joseph Tsai embarked on the road that his father had planned for him:He went to the United States alone to study in a boarding school, and then he was admitted to Yale, obtained a Doctor of Law degree, and entered Wall Street as a tax lawyer after graduation.


In 1995, Joseph Tsai entered the venture capital department of the Wallenberg family in Switzerland (the world's top consortium as famous as the Rockefeller family and the Rothschild family) as the president of Asia.


This year, Joseph Tsai was only 31 years old. The future is boundless, and there is great potential.


Prior to this, Joseph Tsai was on a logical path to attack. Until he met Jack Ma in the lakeside garden.


In 1999, Joseph Tsai, 35, inspected Ma Yun's startup team as an investment manager. In that villa, he met a group of passionate young people. They were like being possessed, laying a bed on the ground, discussing and working with enthusiasm.


Joseph Tsai is very optimistic about Ma Yun's project with a keen investment vision.


One month after a long talk all night, Joseph Tsai offered to resign and join them.At this time, his annual salary was 700000 US dollars, equivalent to the exchange rate at that time, about 5.8 million RMB.


Even Ma Yun was shocked by Joseph Tsai's decision. More than once, he urged Joseph Tsai to think again, "I can only afford a salary of 500 yuan."



Jack Ma never imagined that the leader of the world's top consulting company would join him, and he never even threw away an olive branch.


But Joseph Tsai came here without hesitation. One month is enough time for him to make a good decision.



The annual salary given up is a certain number, but Alibaba's potential is unpredictable and immeasurable.



The risk is controllable, while the benefits are infinite - this risk is worth taking.


This is Joseph Tsai's boldness and foresight that are different from ordinary people, and he soon proved his ability and vision.


Ma Yun has praised Joseph Tsai more than once, "He is the best CFO I have ever seen, and he is still the best CFO."


Shortly after joining, Joseph Tsai introduced a modern corporate structure to everyone and began to carry out industrial and commercial registration. Two months later, he used his own resources to secure a $5 million investment from Goldman Sachs Group.


Joseph Tsai, the "God of Wealth", is a needle like existence of the sea god in Ali.


In 2000, when the Internet foam burst, Ali had to have a life and death negotiation with the Japanese Software Bank. The other party offered to exchange 40 million dollars for 49% of the equity, and Joseph Tsai, who has always been silent and kind, was decisive.


Under his mediation, he ultimately obtained a financing of 20 million yuan with 34% equity. Alibaba's actual controlling stake has been preserved.


Joseph Tsai's third financing, $82 million, enabled Alibaba to merge Yahoo China and establish Taobao. Under his leadership, the company went public in Hong Kong and New York.


The annual salary of 5.8 million yuan that was given up ultimately resulted in a fortune of tens of billions.Under Cai Chongxinping's gentle face, there was an eagle like keenness, quickness and calmness.




After leaving the post of CFO in 2013, Joseph Tsai started the second half of his life.


He devoted more financial and energy to his beloved sports career, and successively acquired the NBA Brooklyn basketball team, WMBA New York Freelances, and the San Diego Seals indoor hockey team.


This also made Joseph Tsai, who has always kept a low profile, and his wife Wu Minghua begin to appear in the public view.


The couple often watch the ball together and are very close:



We will also attend important events together, and Wu Minghua, who is over 50 years old, remains charming and dignified.


The atmospheric and relaxed facial features, simple clothing, and calm and peaceful attitude exude a knowledgeable and elegant, wealthy yet not extravagant old money temperament.



In 1996, Joseph Tsai and Wu Minghua got married, and their marriage news even appeared in New York Times.


Yes, Joseph Tsai's wife Wu Minghua also comes from a famous family.


Her grandfather was Wu Sanlian, the leader of the Tainan Gang and the first mayor of Taipei, and her father was a professor of economics at the University of Kansas.


Wu Minghua himself is also very outstanding. Graduated from top Lawrence High School in the United States, pursued a bachelor's and master's degree in international relations at Stanford, and then pursued an MBA at Harvard.


Wu Minghua and Joseph Tsai are really on a par.


When Joseph Tsai received a million yuan annual salary, Wu Minghua was working as the senior manager and vice president of business analysis department in American Express Financial Group, responsible for opening up Asian business in Hong Kong.


When she learned that her husband had decided to resign and start a business in Hangzhou, Wu Minghua was pregnant with their first child. Despite still having concerns and doubts, after visiting the lakeside garden, she firmly said to Jack Ma:



I know my husband is crazy. If I don't agree with him, he will hate me for the rest of his life. I support him coming to you.



Wu Minghua's understanding enabled Joseph Tsai to be "headstrong" again. The couple have always had a good relationship and have given birth to three children.



At home, she is his closest lover;


In the workplace, she is his most capable companion.


Wu Minghua has always served as the group consultant of Ali, and also played an important role in the operation and management of Joseph Tsai's sports and charity foundation.


This couple, regardless of their knowledge, abilities, and perspectives, can be considered the top representatives of the Chinese American elite, and they are truly a perfect match.




Joseph Tsai has loved collective sports such as basketball, football and rugby since he was in middle school. Because of sports, this young man who is studying overseas alone can quickly break the ice and integrate into the collective life of a foreign country.


More importantly,Physical education has tempered Joseph Tsai's spirit of "being able to lose".


After the acquisition of the NBA Brooklyn Nets, various unexpected situations emerge in endlessly. Joseph Tsai, who was originally full of confidence, suffered from injury and withdrawal.


But in the face of threats from football stars and ridicule from foreign netizens, he has always been calm.


For Joseph Tsai, the layout of the NBA is not just a business resource that loves and preserves value. As the first Chinese owner of the NBA, he has his own pattern.



In February 2021, his team displayed the words "Fighting the epidemic, China cheers" on the home screen. Joseph Tsai's entry made the NBA introduce players in Chinese for the first time and sounded the national anthem for the first time.


Joseph Tsai Charity Fund, which he founded, donated 100 million yuan to the Chinese Football Association to support the development of Chinese women's football. He also established a basketball scholarship to select promising talents in China and study and train in the United States.


In the first time of his country's fight against the epidemic, his foundation donated 25 million yuan.


Joseph Tsai, whose ancestral home is Huzhou, Zhejiang Province, has donated more than 67 million yuan to his hometown as of last August for the construction of stadiums, youth education bases, scholarships, etc.


Although Joseph Tsai has been growing and working abroad since his childhood, he is still a Chinese son and daughter.


In 2021, he used his "1/2 composure, 1/3 logic, and 1/4 storytelling ability" to engage in verbal warfare with cunning interviews by American journalists.


Faced with the stereotypical biases of American media, he is neither humble nor arrogant, with rigorous logic, and responds with economic data and his own observations:



If you ask Chinese parents, will their children live better than you? Most of them will answer:


Absolutely.



The other party was speechless several times and awkwardly switched topics.


This is Joseph Tsai, whose words are few.


But at critical moments, one can always express their attitude unequivocally and convincingly.



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