Alibaba's Jack Ma says he won't change after monster IPO – and Forrest Gump is his hero

Ma cited Forrest Gump as his personal hero as Alibaba is crowned biggest initial public offering in history

Alibaba's Jack Ma arrives at the NYSE ahead of Friday's IPO (GETTY IMAGES)

The doors of Sesame have opened for Alibaba's founder, Jack Ma, after the Chinese e-commerce giant made its record-breaking debut on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday, raising more than $25 billion.

Alibaba's monster IPO means his net worth has rocketed to $26.5 billion, according to Bloomberg data, after shares jumped 38 per cent from its initial listing price of $68 per share, closing the day at $93.89 on Friday.

But the former English teacher, and now China's richest man, insisted money wouldn't change him or his humble ways, citing Forrest Gump, played by Tom Hanks in the Oscar-winning film, as his personal hero and a source of inspiration.

"The hero I had was Forrest Gump, 14 years ago, I've watched that movie for about ten times. Every time I'm frustrated, I watch the movie," he said in a television interview on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, just hours before the stock began trading.

"I watched the movie again, telling me that, no matter what changed, you are you and I'm still the guy who 15 years ago only earned $20 a month and today I can do that much," he added.

Ma said he doesn't worry too much about the share price "going up and down", but remains focused on delivering a good product for customers. However, the Alibaba chief executive said the IPO was a vote of confidence and wants to "make money" for shareholders.

"I don't want to disappoint shareholders, I want to make sure they're making money," he added. "For me, the price, up and down, my people worry about that. I want to make the customer happy."

And so far, Ma has delivered on his promise after the stock soared within minutes as shares began on Friday. The float has officially become the world’s biggest as the sale of additional shares took the amount raised to more than $25 billion (£15.3 billion), surpassing the previous record of $22.1 billion set by Agricultural Bank of China in 2010.