Jul 21, 01:37 PM

Xiao Jianhua's Tomorrow Group Secretly Invested Over $1B in Jack Ma's Companies

A joint investigation by The New York Times and The Wire China, led by Michael Forsythe, Katrina Northrop, and Eliot Chen, has revealed that Xiao Jianhua, a corrupt investor connected to China's political elite, secretly invested in businesses affiliated with Jack Ma, one of China's most celebrated entrepreneurs. Between 2011 and 2016, Xiao's Tomorrow Group invested in six companies linked to Ma, using offshore firms registered in the names of intermediaries to conceal his involvement. The investigation traced Xiao's investments, which amounted to over $1 billion, in major companies such as Alibaba and Ant Financial. Xiao Jianhua, currently jailed, was known as a financier to China's political elite and played a significant role in shaping some of Jack Ma's biggest deals. The findings highlight the intricate connections between China's most celebrated and notorious billionaires.