Alibaba’s chief executive, Jack Ma, is going through a rough time. Not long ago, he dared to criticize the authoritarian Chinese government. For the brilliant businessman, this step seemed quite unwise. Having made sharp remarks about the financial regulator and the ruling party's policies, the businessman predictably fell in disgrace.

Curiously enough, Jack Ma has been out of the public eye for months. As a result, the company's shares began to decrease rapidly. The confrontation with the government did not pass unnoticed. Many Alibaba stockholders began to slowly sell off Alibaba stocks from their portfolios. According to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Microsoft founder Bill Gates was the first who decided to dump all the shares he owned in the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust disclosed that it sold 552,383 Alibaba American depositary receipts.

Notably, the shares were sold at $128.56 million. Overall, the philanthropic foundation earned $21.13 million through its ownership of Alibaba shares. Representatives of the foundation said that in light of recent events, it was necessary to review its portfolio and get rid of some shares. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation also sold all Uber stocks and half of Apple shares.