Alibaba founder and chairman Jack Ma has sold 13 million shares of the China-based b-to-b marketplace for about $35 million, Reuters reported. 

The share accounted for less than 5 percent of his direct and indirect holdings. The company has about 5 billion shares outstanding, traded on the Hong Kong exchange. It counts Yahoo among major investors.

It marked Ma’s first sale in the company he founded 10 years ago. “There are many things that I need to learn how to do … all of which I would like to do while I am still young and will need to do now,” Reuters reported from an internal blog posting. “I need to start learning now how to deploy money to do proper things, to experience the real meaning and responsibilities of having wealth,” he said.

Alibaba shares have almost quadrupled in value since January, after a rocky 2008. Prices closed at HK$21.60 ($2.79 U.S.) on Tuesday’s trading.

Alibaba recently began a major international push. (Client-only content.)