Alibaba vs BlackRock: Founders, CEOs and History
Alibaba was founded in 1999 by Jack Ma (Ma Yun), Joe Tsai (Tsai Chung-hsin) and is led by Eddie Wu. BlackRock was founded in 1988 by Larry Fink, Robert S. Kapito, Susan Wagner and is led by Larry Fink.
Company facts
Founders
Alibaba
Jack Ma (Ma Yun)
Jack Ma (born Ma Yun on September 10, 1964) founded Alibaba in 1999, embarking on a journey that would reshape the modern Chinese economy.
Joe Tsai (Tsai Chung-hsin)
Joe Tsai served as Alibaba's Executive Vice Chairman from 2013 until 2023 and became Non-Executive Chairman following the retirement of Jack Ma. In September 2023 he was elevated to Chairman of the Board.
BlackRock
Larry Fink
Fink joined First Boston in 1976 and became one of its youngest managing directors, running a mortgage-bond desk that was highly profitable until a 1986 interest-rate move cost it about $100 million.
Robert S. Kapito
Kapito worked alongside Fink at First Boston and joined him in founding BlackRock in 1988.
Susan Wagner
Wagner ran many of the functions that let a small bond shop grow into a global firm, including strategy, corporate development and operations.
Barbara Novick
For roughly BlackRock's first two decades Novick ran its global client business, winning the institutional mandates that funded the firm's early growth.
Ben Golub
Golub led much of the quantitative work behind BlackRock's risk-first approach, building analytics for mortgage prepayment, interest-rate and credit risk that became central to Aladdin.
Hugh Frater
Frater was one of the mortgage specialists who helped launch BlackRock's fixed income business and held senior roles at the firm before leaving.
Ralph Schlosstein
Schlosstein brought corporate finance and public policy experience to the founding team; before Lehman he worked at the US Treasury and on the White House domestic policy staff during the Carter administration.
Keith Anderson
Anderson ran BlackRock's fixed income investing for two decades, the core of the firm until iShares arrived with the 2009 BGI deal, and sat on its executive committee. In 2008 he left to become Chief Investment Officer of Soros Fund Management.
CEOs and their tenures
Alibaba
- Daniel Zhang (Zhang Yong)2015–2023
Former CEO and Chairman, Alibaba Group
Daniel Zhang served as Alibaba's CEO from 2015 to 2023, overseeing the company's growth from a primarily domestic e-commerce platform into a diversified technology conglomerate with global ambitions.
Source - Eddie Wu (Wu Yongming)2023–present
Chief Executive Officer, Alibaba Group
Eddie Wu was appointed CEO of Alibaba Group in September 2023, succeeding Daniel Zhang who had led the company since 2015.
Source
BlackRock
- Larry Fink1988–present
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Fink co-founded BlackRock in 1988 and has run it for its entire history, taking it from a bond boutique to the world's largest asset manager.
Source - Susan Wagner1988–2012
Co-Founder, Chief Operating Officer and Vice Chairman
Co-founder who led strategy, corporate development and operations, including BlackRock's side of the MLIM merger and the BGI acquisition, before retiring from management in 2012 and joining the board.
Source - Robert S. Kapito2007–present
President
Co-founder who long ran BlackRock's Portfolio Management Group across fixed income, equity, liquidity and alternatives before becoming President in 2007, overseeing day-to-day operations.
Source - Rob Goldstein2014–present
Chief Operating Officer
Named COO in 2014 after running BlackRock's global institutional client business; oversees operations across the firm and sits on the management committee created in 2025.
Source - Martin Small2023–present
Chief Financial Officer
CFO since 2023; leads financial planning and investor reporting and has laid out the 2030 targets for private markets, technology and digital asset revenue on earnings calls.
Source - Adebayo Ogunlesi2024–present
Chairman and CEO, Global Infrastructure Partners
Founder of GIP who joined BlackRock's leadership when the deal closed in October 2024; leads its infrastructure business, including the Aligned Data Centers and AES transactions.
Source
Timeline: Alibaba and BlackRock side by side
1988BlackRock
Founded inside the Blackstone Group
Larry Fink and seven partners start Blackstone Financial Management, a bond and risk-management unit backed by a $5 million credit line from the Blackstone Group.
1992BlackRock
Renamed BlackRock
The business takes the BlackRock name and ends the year managing about $17 billion in assets.
1994BlackRock
Sold to PNC for $240 million
After a dispute over equity for new hires, Blackstone sells BlackRock to PNC, which becomes its long-term majority owner.
1999Alibaba
Alibaba.com Launched
Jack Ma and 17 co-founders launch Alibaba.com from a Hangzhou apartment with $60,000 in pooled savings, creating a B2B online marketplace connecting Chinese manufacturers with international buyers.
1999Alibaba
First Major Investment from SoftBank
Masayoshi Son invests $20 million in Alibaba in a meeting reportedly lasting five minutes, alongside $5 million from Goldman Sachs, providing survival capital through the imminent dot-com crash.
1999BlackRock
NYSE IPO
BlackRock lists on the New York Stock Exchange on October 1, 1999, at $14 per share.
2000BlackRock
BlackRock Solutions launched
BlackRock starts selling its internal risk analytics, later known as Aladdin, and advisory services to other institutions.
2001Alibaba
Gold Supplier Program Launch
Alibaba launches the Gold Supplier verified membership program at $3,000 per year, generating approximately $10 million in first-year revenue and proving the B2B marketplace model's commercial viability.
2003Alibaba
Taobao Launches to Challenge eBay
Alibaba secretly develops and launches Taobao, a consumer-to-consumer marketplace offered free to both buyers and sellers, directly targeting eBay's Chinese market position. Within three years, Taobao surpasses eBay's Chinese market share.
2004Alibaba
Alipay Escrow Service Created
Alibaba creates Alipay as a payment escrow solution for Taobao transactions, holding buyer funds until delivery confirmation before releasing payment to sellers solving the trust barrier that was limiting online commerce adoption.
2006BlackRock
Merger with Merrill Lynch Investment Managers
The MLIM deal adds equity, retail and international businesses and gives Merrill Lynch a stake of nearly half of BlackRock.
2008Alibaba
Tmall (Taobao Mall) Launch
Alibaba launches a premium B2C marketplace initially called Taobao Mall (later rebranded Tmall), allowing established brands to operate official storefronts with higher trust credentials and enabling Alibaba to serve the premium consumer segment.
2008BlackRock
Hired to manage crisis assets
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York hires BlackRock to manage the Maiden Lane portfolios taken over from Bear Stearns and AIG.
2009Alibaba
Alibaba Cloud Founded
Alibaba launches Alibaba Cloud (Aliyun) as a cloud computing business, a decade ahead of many enterprise adoption cycles, positioning it to become Asia Pacific's dominant cloud provider.
2009BlackRock
Acquires Barclays Global Investors and iShares
BlackRock closes its purchase of BGI on December 1, 2009, becoming the world's largest asset manager and taking over the iShares ETF business.
2011Alibaba
First Singles' Day Shopping Festival
Alibaba transforms the informal 'Singles' Day' celebration on November 11 into a promotional shopping event on Taobao and Tmall, generating ~$130 million (936 million yuan) in sales a figure that would grow more than 100-fold in subsequent years.
2014Alibaba
Record-Breaking NYSE IPO
Alibaba completes its initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange on September 19, 2014, raising $25 billion the largest IPO in US stock market history at that time at a valuation of approximately $168 billion.
2019Alibaba
Dual Listing on Hong Kong Stock Exchange
Alibaba completes a secondary listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, raising an additional $13 billion and broadening its investor base among Asian institutional and retail investors, reducing dependence on US capital markets.
2020BlackRock
PNC exits its stake
PNC sells its roughly 22% stake in BlackRock, leaving the company without a large controlling shareholder.
2021Alibaba
Record Antitrust Fine
Chinese regulators impose a 18.23 billion yuan ($2.8 billion USD) antitrust fine on Alibaba following a months-long investigation into its 'choose one from two' exclusivity practices at the time, the largest antitrust fine in Chinese regulatory history.
2023Alibaba
Six-Business-Unit Restructuring Announced
Alibaba announces its most significant organizational restructuring, dividing the company into six independent business units each with its own CEO and board: Taobao Tmall Group, Cloud Intelligence Group, Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group, Cainiao S…
2023BlackRock
Moves headquarters to 50 Hudson Yards
BlackRock moves its New York headquarters to the 50 Hudson Yards tower on Manhattan's West Side.
2024BlackRock
iShares Bitcoin Trust launch and GIP deal
BlackRock launches the iShares Bitcoin Trust in January and closes the roughly $12.5 billion purchase of Global Infrastructure Partners on October 1.
2025BlackRock
HPS deal and record inflows
BlackRock completes the HPS Investment Partners and Preqin acquisitions, then ends the year with a record $698 billion of net inflows and $14 trillion in AUM.
2026BlackRock
AUM passes $15 trillion
AUM reaches a record $15.3 trillion at June 30, 2026, and a GIP-backed consortium closes the $40 billion acquisition of Aligned Data Centers in July.
Acquisitions
Alibaba
- Sun Art Retail Group (Auchan Retail China)2020$3.6B
- Ele.me2018$9.5B
- Trendyol (stake investment)2018$750M
- Lazada2016$1B
- Youku Tudou2016$3.7B
BlackRock
- Preqin2025$3.2B
- HPS Investment Partners2025$12B
- Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP)2024$12.5B
- Aperio Group2021$1.1B
- eFront2019$1.3B
- Barclays Global Investors (BGI) and iShares2009$13.5B
Questions about Alibaba vs BlackRock
Who is the CEO of Alibaba Group Holding Limited and BlackRock, Inc.?
Alibaba Group Holding Limited is led by Eddie Wu and BlackRock, Inc. is led by Larry Fink. Both serve as the top executive responsible for the company's strategy, operations, and financial performance.
When was Alibaba Group Holding Limited founded vs BlackRock, Inc.?
BlackRock, Inc. was founded in 1988 — 11 years before Alibaba Group Holding Limited, which was founded in 1999. BlackRock, Inc.'s longer operating history gives it a deeper track record but also potentially more institutional inertia compared to the younger Alibaba Group Holding Limited.
How many employees does Alibaba Group Holding Limited have compared to BlackRock, Inc.?
Alibaba Group Holding Limited employs approximately 131,462 people, while BlackRock, Inc. employs approximately 24,900. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has the larger workforce at 131,462 employees, compared to BlackRock, Inc.'s 24,900. A higher headcount does not necessarily imply greater efficiency — it often reflects differences in business model (e.g., manufacturing vs. software).
Where are Alibaba Group Holding Limited and BlackRock, Inc. headquartered?
Alibaba Group Holding Limited is headquartered in China and BlackRock, Inc. is headquartered in United States. Their different home markets mean they may face different regulatory frameworks, tax regimes, and currency exposure.
Who founded Alibaba Group Holding Limited and BlackRock, Inc.?
Alibaba Group Holding Limited was founded by Jack Ma (Ma Yun), Joe Tsai (Tsai Chung-hsin). BlackRock, Inc. was founded by Larry Fink, Robert S. Kapito, Susan Wagner, Barbara Novick, Ben Golub, Hugh Frater, Ralph Schlosstein, Keith Anderson.
Which company has a longer operating history — Alibaba Group Holding Limited or BlackRock, Inc.?
BlackRock, Inc. has been operating for approximately 38 years, making it the more established of the two companies. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has been in operation for around 27 years. A longer operating history often signals greater institutional resilience and brand recognition, though it can also mean slower adaptation to new market conditions.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Alibaba vs BlackRock overview