Joseph Tsai

Joseph Tsai (; 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 and owns the Brooklyn Nets of the American 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, and has interests in several other professional sports franchises. Tsai's net worth is estimated to be US$8.1 billion. Early life Tsai was born in Taipei, Taiwan, to Paul C. Tsai (, d.2013), a second-generation lawyer, and Ruby Tsai. He has three younger siblings: Eva, Vivian, and Benjamin. The Tsai family had escaped to Taiwan as part of the Kuomintang exodus after the communists took over control of Mainland China in 1949 during the Chinese Civil War. At age 13, Tsai was sent to the U.S. to attend the Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, where he played both lacrosse and football (inside linebacker) and was a member of Cleve House. Tsai enrolled at his father's alma mater, Yale University. He played for the Yale varsity lacrosse team for four years and has remained a supporter of the team. Tsai earned a B.A. in economics and East Asian studies from Yale College in 1986. In 1990, he earned a J.D. from Yale Law School, where he was articles editor of the Yale Law & Policy Review.