Ma used his entrepreneurial wits to build up an e-commerce giant in stark contrast to the state owned companies that became behemoths because of Communist Party policies and ties to the political elite. The initial public offering, which will raise as much as $25 billion, cements his position as one of China's richest people. A former English teacher who flunked his college entrance exam twice, Ma founded Alibaba in his apartment in 1999 with 17 friends. The company started as a site to link Chinese manufacturers with buyers overseas and is now an e-commerce behemoth that's expanded into banking, digital maps and online video. Ma's path to internet retailing dominance began with a business trip to the United States in 1995 that went sour after the investor he was to meet turned out to be con man.