Jack Ma’s Local Bar Lacks One Thing: Its Most Famous Regular
- Alibaba founder has not been seen publicly in months
- Ma believed to be laying low, not in personal jeopardy
WATCH: "I'm here at Jack Ma's old apartment in Hangzhou."#WhereIsJackMa? @allenwan290 heads to the hometown of China’s billionaire who hasn’t been seen in public since regulators began an investigation into his Alibaba empire.
(Source: QuickTake)Business was brisk at the HHB Music House on a recent Thursday night. The live music venue, located just a short taxi ride from Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s headquarters, was crowded, with virtually all of the dozen or so tables and booths occupied by Jack Ma fans ordering Alibaba-themed cocktails with their Alibaba mobile app in the dark and listening to cover songs by the house band. Many were probably hoping to catch a glimpse of its most famous customer, who hasn’t been seen or heard since November.
Ma, who used to come at least once a month to the bar that was opened by Alibaba executives in early 2019, hasn’t been around since late last year, said one worker, who would only speak on the condition of anonymity. HHB, which stands for “Happy Honey Badger,” an animal known for its ferocious fighting abilities that Ma modeled himself after, is a shrine of sorts to the man who put China Inc. on the map. In the lobby were a few copies of “This Is Ma Yun,” a biography written by his personal assistant, and baseball caps emblazoned with a bow-tied feral-looking badger for sale.