Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Jack Ma is now officially stepping down as Alibaba’s chairman, leaving the position $41.8 billion richer than when he came in.

A former English teacher from Hangzhou, Ma co-founded Alibaba in 1999, turning the company into a $480 billion e-commerce giant and himself into China’s most influential business guru.

On Monday, Ma paid a visit to his company’s Binjiang Campus to say his goodbyes to old colleagues. He was quickly swarmed by his employees who shouted out their congratulations and showered him with applause.