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Asia’s richest man Jack Ma dances to Michael Jackson at Alibaba anniversary

Asia’s richest man Jack Ma dances to Michael Jackson at Alibaba anniversary

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Today’s Apple launch event should take notes from Alibaba’s chairman and China’s richest man Jack Ma, who kicked off his company’s 18th anniversary with a dramatic Michael Jackson dance. Ma sat on a motorcycle onstage while wearing a mask and outfit that resembles Jackson’s outfit on his Dangerous World tour. He danced along to the opening notes of Jackson’s “Billie Jean,” and then got into a Beyoncé-esque “Formation” with his backup dancers. He performed for a crowd of about 40,000 employees.

This isn’t the first time Ma has danced his shoes off onstage. During the 2009 anniversary, Ma got real weird with a blonde wig and a punk rock getup as he danced along to The Lion King. Here is the photographic evidence.

Ma singing in 2009.
Ma singing in 2009.

Then in 2013, he dressed up as a “pop star” to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Chinese eBay-like marketplace, TaoBao.

Ma performing in 2013.
Ma performing in 2013.

Keynote theatrics can come across corny if not done right (or done by the right person), but we think it’s worth other tech companies taking note. Get out of your solid gray T-shirts and dark turtlenecks and live a little.