Joe Tsai

Person

Chairman of Alibaba and owner of the Brooklyn Nets and New York Liberty. He discusses the business of sports, Alibaba's history, US-China relations, and the future of AI.


First Mentioned

10/9/2025, 4:41:11 AM

Last Updated

10/9/2025, 4:44:43 AM

Research Retrieved

10/9/2025, 4:44:41 AM

Summary

Joe Tsai is a Taiwanese-Canadian billionaire businessman, lawyer, and philanthropist, widely recognized as a co-founder and the current chairman of Alibaba Group. Beyond his significant role in technology, he is a prominent figure in professional sports, owning the Brooklyn Nets (NBA), New York Liberty (WNBA), and San Diego Seals (NLL), and serving on the NBA Competition Committee. Tsai has highlighted the substantial economic impact of athletes like Caitlin Clark on the WNBA, noting a quadrupling of viewership and sponsorships. He reflects on Alibaba's origins under Jack Ma's leadership during a period of less regulated capitalism in China, contrasting it with today's more regulated and competitive landscape where Alibaba faces rivals like ByteDance. Tsai advocates for cooperation in the US-China rivalry, rejecting a zero-sum perspective, and defines "winning" in the AI race by rapid adoption rather than superior models, pointing to China's swift AI progress driven by open-source strategies and hyperscaler investments, while also acknowledging domestic challenges in China such as high youth unemployment and a property slump.

Referenced in 1 Document
Research Data
Extracted Attributes
  • Born

    1964-01-01

  • Father

    Paul C. Tsai

  • Mother

    Ruby Tsai

  • Education

    JD, Yale Law School (1990)

  • Full Name

    Joseph Chung-Hsin Tsai

  • Profession

    Billionaire businessman, lawyer, philanthropist

  • Nationality

    Taiwanese-Canadian

  • Current Role

    Chairman, Barclays Center

  • View on AGI Fear in China

    Less prevalent due to a belief in state control

  • Stance on US-China Rivalry

    Advocates for cooperation, disagrees with zero-sum perspective

  • Definition of 'Winning' in AI Race

    Achieving the fastest AI Adoption

Timeline
  • Born Joseph Chung-Hsin Tsai. (Source: wikipedia)

    1964-01-01

  • Graduated from Yale College with a BA. (Source: web_search_results)

    1986-01-01

  • Graduated from Yale Law School with a JD. (Source: web_search_results)

    1990-01-01

  • Began working as an associate attorney in the tax group of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP in New York. (Source: web_search_results)

    1990-01-01

  • Began working as a private equity investor based in Asia with Investor AB. (Source: web_search_results)

    1995-01-01

  • Joined Alibaba Group as a founding team member. (Source: web_search_results)

    1999-01-01

  • Began serving as Chief Financial Officer of Alibaba Group. (Source: web_search_results)

    1999-01-01

  • Became Executive Vice Chairman of Alibaba Group, concluding his role as CFO. (Source: web_search_results)

    2013-01-01

  • Stepped down as Executive Vice Chairman and became Chairman of Alibaba Group. (Source: web_search_results)

    2023-09-01

  • Serves on the NBA's influential NBA Competition Committee (ongoing role). (Source: related_documents)

    2024-01-01

Joseph Tsai

Joseph Chung-Hsin Tsai (Chinese: 蔡崇信; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Chhòa Chông-sìn; born January 1964) is a Taiwanese-Canadian billionaire business magnate, lawyer, and philanthropist. He is a co-founder and chairman of the Chinese multinational technology company Alibaba Group. Tsai owns the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA), the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), the San Diego Seals of the National Lacrosse League (NLL), and has interests in several other professional sports franchises.

Web Search Results
  • Joseph Tsai - Wikipedia

    Joseph Chung-Hsin Tsai (Chinese: 蔡崇信; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Chhòa Chông-sìn; born January 1964) is a Taiwanese-Canadian billionaire business magnate, lawyer, and philanthropist. He is a co-founder and chairman of the Chinese multinational technology company Alibaba Group. Tsai owns the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA), the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), the San Diego Seals of the National Lacrosse League (NLL), and has interests in [...] What links here Related changes Upload file Permanent link Page information Cite this page Get shortened URL Download QR code Print/export Download as PDF Printable version In other projects Wikidata item Appearance From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Taiwanese-Canadian businessman (born 1964) | Joe Tsai | [...] 39. ^ "Nets owner Joe Tsai posts lengthy open letter about Daryl Morey situation - Sportsnet.ca". www.sportsnet.ca. Retrieved 13 June 2022. 40. ^ "Joe Tsai, Brooklyn Nets owner and Alibaba co-founder, blasts NBA GM's pro-Hong Kong tweet". Fox Business. 7 October 2019. 41. ^ "James Harden says 'we love China;' Nets owner Joe Tsai weighs in on Morey tweet". NBC Sport. 7 October 2019.

  • Joseph Tsai | Gold House

    ### Joseph Tsai Executive Vice Chairman, Alibaba Group Governor, Brooklyn Nets & New York Liberty Joe Tsai is a co-founder and executive vice chairman of Alibaba Group, a global Internet technology company based in China. His career at Alibaba spans over 20 years, during which he was the company’s chief financial officer and oversaw strategic investments. He is a founding member of Alibaba Partnership. [...] Tsai is Governor of the Brooklyn Nets (NBA) and New York Liberty (WNBA), and is Chairman of the teams’ home arena Barclays Center. He owns the San Diego Seals, a professional indoor lacrosse team in the National Lacrosse League and has investments in the Premier Lacrosse League and Los Angeles FC of Major League Soccer. [...] Prior to founding Alibaba Group, Tsai was a private equity investor with Investor AB of Sweden’s Wallenberg family. He is a graduate of Yale College (BA ’86) and Yale Law School (JD ’90), and practiced tax law as an associate with Sullivan & Cromwell LLP in New York from 1990 to 1993.

  • JOE TSAI-Alibaba Group

    JOE TSAI Chairman JOE TSAI Chairman Joe Tsaijoined Alibaba in 1999 as a member of the founding team and has served on the Company's board of directors since inception. He was chief financial officer until 2013, executive vice chairman until September 2023 and currently serves as the chairman of the Company. Joe is a founding member of the Alibaba Partnership and a board member of Ant Group, an affiliate of Alibaba. [...] From 1995 to 1999, Joe was a private equity investor based in Asia with Investor AB of Sweden’s Wallenberg family. Prior to that, he was general counsel of Rosecliff, Inc., a management buyout firm based in New York. From 1990 to 1993, Joe was an associate attorney in the tax group of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, a New York-based international law firm.

  • Joseph Tsai: Net Worth & Biography - Goodreturns

    Joseph Tsai is a Taiwanese-Canadian billionaire business magnate, lawyer, and philanthropist, co-founder and chairman of Alibaba Group. He also owns the Brooklyn Nets of the NBA, the New York Liberty of the WNBA, and has interests in several other professional sports franchises. What milestones have defined Joseph Tsai's career? [...] Joseph Tsai, a Taiwanese-Canadian billionaire business magnate, lawyer, and philanthropist, was born in Taipei, Taiwan. His father, Paul C. Tsai, was a second-generation lawyer, and his mother was Ruby Tsai. Tsai has three younger siblings: Eva, Vivian, and Benjamin. During the Chinese Civil War, his family sought refuge in Taiwan. [...] Today, Tsai is the second-largest individual shareholder of Alibaba after Jack Ma. ## Joseph Tsai: Companies Joseph Tsai is associated with a diverse portfolio of companies. He is the co-founder and chairman of Alibaba Group, one of the world's largest e-commerce companies. Through his ownership of the Brooklyn Nets of the NBA, the New York Liberty of the WNBA, and the San Diego Seals of the National Lacrosse League, Tsai has a significant presence in the sports industry.

  • Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai is the face of NBA's uneasy China ...

    A NATURALIZED CANADIAN citizen, Tsai, 58, was born in Taiwan. His parents fled Mainland China in 1948 during the Communist takeover. His father, Paul Tsai, was the first student from Taiwan to earn an elite J.S.D. degree at Yale Law School; Paul Tsai later returned to Taiwan to start a prominent law practice and serve in the Ministry of Economic Affairs. Joe Tsai was sent to the United States at 13, attended a private high school in New Jersey, earned undergraduate and law degrees at Yale and [...] "Joe Tsai is emblematic of U.S. sports and business figures who are critical of American imperfections, as we all should be, but who make excuses for human rights atrocities committed in China, where he makes money," said Matt Pottinger, a former deputy national security adviser and China specialist in the Trump administration. "We're going to self-censor or even compliment the policies of a totalitarian dictatorship that's committing crimes against humanity?" [...] JOE TSAI, THE billionaire owner of the Brooklyn Nets, made his fortune in China. His company, Alibaba, began in a Hangzhou apartment and has since been described as "Amazon on steroids." When Tsai bought into the NBA, commissioner Adam Silver predicted he'd be "invaluable" to the league's expansion in the world's largest market.