A look back at how Jack Ma turned Alibaba into Asia's most valuable firm

The Alibaba Partnership is established to ensure management control of the company

Jack Ma laid out plans for leaving Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. on Monday, his 54th birthday. China’s richest man says he will focus much of his time -- and $40 billion fortune -- on education and philanthropy.

Ma will step down as executive chairman at the e-commerce giant in 12 months with Chief Executive Officer Daniel Zhang succeeding him as chairman. Ma will then leave the board in 2020.

Here is a look at how Ma turned Alibaba into Asia’s most valuable firm:

*1999: Jack Ma founds Alibaba with 17 other people in Hangzhou, China, with $60,000