Jack Ma

Jack Ma

Age: 45
Chairman, Alibaba

After having built China's biggest e-commerce group, Ma is looking overseas. The former English teacher is pushing an aggressive expansion plan, opening operations in neighboring countries as well as farther afield in places such as Turkey. When Ma started Alibaba 10 years ago, he faced many doubters, "but we made it happen," he boasts. Now, he says, "we think our model can work in India, in Japan, in Mexico, in Peru"—anywhere.