Jack Ma, the billionaire executive chairman of e-commerce giant Alibaba, bought a private park in New York for around US$23 million, the Qianjiang Evening News reported.

He is planning to authorize the Peach Garden Ecological Conservation Foundation, an environmental protection NGO he founded with another Chinese Internet magnet Pony Ma, to run the Brandon Park for the purpose of conservation.

The plan has been confirmed by Peach Garden's head, who added that the foundation will make similar investments in China as its next step, in order to promote conservation.

Commercial activities in the park, such as commercial logging, have been stopped after Ma closed the deal.

Located in upstate New York, Brandon Park is a 28,100-acre private estate with seven miles of pristine rivers, 11 brook-trout ponds and a 2,200-foot mountain. It had been owned by several wealthy American families. It was first listed for sale in 2012 with an asking price of US$28 million, and the asking price was lowered to US$22.5 million in 2014.

Time magazine listed Jack Ma as one of China's most influential business leaders and one of the 100 people who "most affect our world."

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