HONG KONG — Jack Ma formally retired on Tuesday from Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce giant he founded that helped transform the way hundreds of millions of people shop and made him one of the world’s richest men.

But despite the elaborate celebrations the company held on Tuesday to commemorate his departure, Mr. Ma isn’t going far.

On paper, Daniel Zhang, Alibaba’s chief executive, will succeed the 55-year-old Mr. Ma as executive chairman. Mr. Ma has said he will devote his time to philanthropy, especially rural education.

“I’m not going to stop doing things,” he told a women’s entrepreneurship event in late August. “Alibaba is but one of my dreams. I’m still young.”