Jack Ma Conducts Philharmonic Orchestra, Becomes Simulation Game Subject

Former Alibaba CEO Jack Ma made an unexpected appearance as an orchestra conductor this week, proving that he is truly living his best life after retirement.

The ecommerce billionaire was invited on stage in Langfang to conduct the China Philharmonic Orchestra. Ma, whose net worth is 41.6 billion USD, then did his best to lead the players in the “Radetzky March” with a little help from the actual conductor, who stood humbly to the side. Whether he was spontaneously invited or it was an organized stunt, the audience loved it.

In video of the incident, Ma walks on stage to enthusiastic applause and cheers, and at times encourages the audience to clap along in true rockstar fashion. This of course isn’t the first time Ma has indulged his musical side, having previously performed as Michael Jackson and donned a wig and leather jacket to play guitar at Alibaba events.

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And even in retirement, Ma’s status as a pop culture icon in China continues to rise. Take a Jack Ma Internet simulation game that recently made the rounds, in which players are given 279,000,000,000RMB (about 40 billion USD) to spend on an array of goods ranging from milk tea to Boeing planes. No matter how much you spend, your wealth meter never seems to go down.

The creator of the game seems to have a sense of humor as well; at certain points, Ma can be heard saying, “What’s the use of money?”