The big gamble that paid off

Foreign investors reap rewards of early investments in Internet firms

Some current and former employees of China's Alibaba Group Holding Ltd are expected to become millionaires as the e-commerce conglomerate heads into what is expected to be one of the largest initial public offerings in global history.

According to Alibaba's draft prospectus, employees hold 26.7 percent of existing shares, which could translate into roughly $44.8 billion worth of unlocked shares, according to estimates from a Bloomberg survey of analysts.