The Joe Tsai Family Office: Blue Pool Capital

The Taiwanese-Canadian billionaire business magnate, lawyer, and philanthropist

Joe Tsai amassed his fortune through his role in founding the Chinese technology company Alibaba Group. Tsai was born in Taipei, Taiwan, but was sent to the US at the age of 13. He became a Canadian citizen in the 1970s. Tsai first met Jack Ma, the man behind Alibaba, in 1999. He was a private equity investor at Investor AB, the family office of the Wallenberg family. He left Investor AB to join Alibaba, becoming its chief operating officer and chief financial officer. Since 2023 he has been chairman of the company and its second largest individual shareholder. By 2024, Alibaba had annual revenues of $134 billion. Thanks to the company’s success, Tsai amassed a fortune of $8.9 billion.

The investment focus of the Tsai family office

The Joseph Tsai family office, Blue Pool Capital, is headquartered in Hong Kong, where it oversees the family’s investments. Blue Pool Capital invests in capital markets, private equity and sports. During the Milken Institute Symposium, Oliver Weisberg, CEO of the Tsai family office, added that the family office is active in the Japanese real estate market. However, the most high-profile investments have been the acquisitions of various American sports clubs. In 2019, Blue Pool Capital took over the New York-based Brooklyn Nets and their stadium for $3.5 billion, as well as the MLS team Los Angeles FC. In addition to his involvement with his family office and Alibaba Group, he is also an active philanthropist. He and his wife Clara have established the Social Justice Fund in Brooklyn, New York, which aims to provide $50 million to support the borough’s equitable economic recovery from the COVID pandemic.

Picture Source: Zonghe Ma via Unsplash