Ma Huateng

{{Infobox person

| name = Ma Huateng

| nickname = Pony Ma

| caption = Ma in 2019

| native_name = {{nobold|{{lang|zh-hans|马化腾}}}}

| image = 马化腾 Pony Ma 2019.jpg

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1971|10|29}}

| birth_place = Shantou, Guangdong, China

| education = Shenzhen University (BS)

| occupation = {{Hlist|Businessman|investor|philanthropist|engineer}}

| known_for = Co-founding of Tencent

| title = Chairperson of Tencent

| website =

| module = {{Infobox Chinese|order=st|child=yes|hide=no

|s = 马化腾

|t = 馬化騰

|p= Mǎ Huàténg

}}

Ma Huateng{{cite news|url=https://www.ft.com/content/608d171e-f08a-11e7-b220-857e26d1aca4|title= Pony Ma, the global strategist with deep pockets |date=6 January 2018|access-date=22 April 2018|work=Financial Times}} ({{zh|s=马化腾|p=Mǎ Huàténg}}, born October 29, 1971) is a Chinese businessman, investor and philanthropist who is the co-founder, chairperson and chief executive officer (CEO) of Tencent,{{Cite web |title=Tencent - Tencent 腾讯 |url=https://www.tencent.com/en-us/about.html |access-date=2024-09-14 |website=www.tencent.com}} one of the most valuable companies in East Asia, one of the largest internet and technology companies, and one of the biggest investment, gaming, and entertainment conglomerates in the world.{{cite news|title=Tencent posts 69 percent jump in quarterly net profit; becomes the most valuable company in Asia|url=http://www.firstpost.com/tech/news-analysis/tencent-posts-69-percent-jump-in-quarterly-net-profit-becomes-the-most-valuable-company-in-asia-4211333.html|work=Tech2}}[https://books.google.com/books?id=IWftSWQ30Q8C&pg=PT118 Investing in China: The Emerging Venture Capital Industry] Jonsson Yinya Li, Google Book Search The company in Shenzhen develops China's biggest mobile instant messaging service, WeChat, and its subsidiaries provide media, entertainment, payment systems, smartphones, internet-related services, value-added services and online advertising services, both in China and globally.

In 2007, 2014,{{cite news| url=https://time.com/time100-2014/?pcd=hp-magmod | magazine=Time | title=The 100 Most Influential People in the World | date=April 24, 2014}} and 2018, Time magazine named him one of the world's most influential people,[https://books.google.com/books?id=24P3M4hrpWwC&pg=PA111 Biographical Dictionary of New Chinese Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders, Pg. 111] Ilan Alon and Wenxian Zhang. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2009. Google Book Search. while in 2015, Forbes credited him as one of the world's most powerful people. In 2017, Fortune ranked him as among the top businessmen of the year.{{cite news|title=Businessperson of the Year|url=http://fortune.com/businessperson-of-the-year/|work=Fortune|date=16 November 2017}}{{cite news|last1=Schuman|first1=Michael|title=Ma Huateng - pg.49|url=https://www.forbes.com/pictures/hdij45k/ma-huateng/#1a44db9141b8|work=Forbes}} In 2018, he was named one of the "Most Powerful People In The World" by the CEOWORLD magazine.{{Cite web|last1=Irel|first1=Sophie|date=May 5, 2020|title=Ranked: Most Powerful People In The World, 2020|url=https://ceoworld.biz/2020/05/05/ranked-most-powerful-people-in-the-world-2020/|access-date=2021-06-16}} Ma was a deputy to the Shenzhen Municipal People's Congress and a delegate in the 12th National People's Congress.[http://www.tencent.com/en-us/index.shtml Tencent] Tencent official site

Being one of "Fortune world's greatest leaders",{{Cite web|url=https://fortune.com/longform/worlds-greatest-leaders-2018/|title=The World's 50 Greatest Leaders|website=Fortune}} Ma is known for his low profile personality as compared to fellow Chinese businessman and Alibaba founder Jack Ma's outgoing personality.

{{As of|2025|March|df=US}}, he has a net worth of US$53.1 billion according to Forbes.{{cite news|title=The World's Real-Time Billionaires |work=Forbes |url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/ma-huateng/?list=rtb/|access-date=25 March 2025}}

Early life and education

Ma was born in Chaoyang, Shantou, Guangdong. When his father, Ma Chenshu ({{lang|zh-hans|马陈术}}), got a job as a port manager in Shenzhen, the young Ma accompanied him.{{Cite web|title = Tencent's Ma Huateng is China's second-richest man on WeChat mania|url = http://www.livemint.com/Companies/RNlBzbwFJfrKsIJ24EtDdJ/Tencents-Ma-Huateng-is-Chinas-secondrichest-man-on-WeChat.html |website = www.livemint.com/|date = December 17, 2013 |access-date = 2016-01-12}} He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science and Applied Engineering from Shenzhen University in 1993.{{Cite web |title=Tencent - Tencent 腾讯 |url=https://www.tencent.com/en-us/about.html#:~:text=Pony%20received%20his%20Bachelor%20of%20Science%20degree%20specializing%20in%20Computer%20and%20Applied%20Engineering%20from%20Shenzhen%20University. |access-date=2022-05-29 |website=www.tencent.com}}{{Cite web |date=2018-10-08 |title=人物故事 – 马化腾 |url=https://edf.szu.edu.cn/info/1024/1115.htm#:~:text=%E5%8F%8A%E5%BA%94%E7%94%A8%EF%BC%8C%E4%BA%8E-,1993%E5%B9%B4%E5%8F%96%E5%BE%97%E6%B7%B1%E5%9C%B3%E5%A4%A7%E5%AD%A6%E7%90%86%E7%A7%91%E5%AD%A6%E5%A3%AB%E5%AD%A6%E4%BD%8D,-%E3%80%82%E5%9C%A8%E5%88%9B%E5%8A%9E%E8%85%BE |access-date=2022-05-28 |website=Shenzhen University Educational Development Foundation}}

Career

=Founding of Tencent and early career=

Ma's first job was with China Motion Telecom Development, a supplier of telecommunications services and products, where he was in charge of developing software for pagers. He reportedly earned $176 per month.{{Cite web|title = Tencent's Ma becomes China's second-richest man|url = http://www.businessspectator.com.au/news/2013/12/18/china/tencents-ma-becomes-chinas-second-richest-man|website = www.businessspectator.com.au|access-date = 2016-01-12}} He also worked for Shenzhen Runxun Communications Co. Ltd. ({{lang|zh|深圳润迅通讯发展you/ed/s限公司}}) in the research and development department for Internet calling services.{{Cite web|title = A mysterious message millionaire|url = http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2009-01/12/content_7388202.htm|website = www.chinadaily.com.cn|access-date = 2016-01-12}}

Along with four other classmates, Ma Huateng went on to co-found Tencent in 1998. The company's first product came after Ma participated in a presentation for ICQ, the world's first Internet instant messaging service, founded in 1996 by an Israeli company. Inspired by the idea, Ma and his team launched in February 1999 a similar software, with a Chinese interface and a slightly different name: OICQ (or Open ICQ).{{Cite web|title = Ma Huateng {{!}} Chinese entrepreneur|url = http://www.britannica.com/biography/Ma-Huateng|website = Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date = 2021-01-21}} The product quickly became popular and garnered more than a million registered users by the end of 1999, making it one of the largest such services in China.{{Cite web|url=http://www.fastcompany.com/3029119/most-innovative-companies/tencent-the-secretive-chinese-tech-giant-that-can-rival-facebook-a|title=Tencent: The Secretive, Chinese Tech Giant That Can Rival Facebook and Amazon|website=Fast Company|language=en-US|access-date=2016-01-12}}

In a 2009 interview with China Daily, he stated: "If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants", paraphrasing a quote attributed to Isaac Newton and referencing the similarities between ICQ and OICQ. "We knew our product had a future, but at that time we just couldn't afford it." In order to solve the problem, Ma applied for bank loans and even discussed selling the company.{{Cite web|title = Pony Ma Biography - life, family, name, young, born, time, year, Career, Sidelights - Newsmakers Cumulation|url = http://www.notablebiographies.com/newsmakers2/2006-Le-Ra/Ma-Pony.html|website = www.notablebiographies.com|access-date = 2016-01-12}}

Since Tencent offered its flagship service OICQ for free, the company sought venture capital to cover its rising operational costs. In 2000, Ma secured funding from U.S. investment firm IDC and Hong Kong telecom carrier Pacific Century CyberWorks (PCCW), which acquired a 40% stake in Tencent for $2.2 million.{{Cite web|title = Ten Years of Tencent -- Beijing Review|url = http://www.bjreview.com/exclusive/txt/2009-02/13/content_178210.htm|website = www.bjreview.com|access-date = 2016-01-12}} With the pager market shrinking, Ma improved the messaging platform by allowing OICQ users to send messages to mobile handsets. Afterwards, 80 percent of the company's revenue came from deals struck with telecom operators who agreed to share message fees.

= AOL arbitration and business expansion =

After AOL (America Online) bought ICQ in 1998, the company filed an arbitration against Tencent with the National Arbitration Forum in the United States, claiming that OICQ's domain names OICQ.com and OICQ.net were in violation of ICQ's trademark. Tencent lost the case and had to relinquish the domain names. In December 2000, Ma changed the name of the software to QQ ("Q" and "QQ" used to stand for the word "cute").{{Cite web|title = Language Log » A New Morpheme in Mandarin|url = http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=3111|website = languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu|access-date = 2016-01-12}}

After the AOL case, Ma decided to expand the business portfolio of Tencent. In 2003, Tencent released its own portal (QQ.com) and made forays into the online games market. By 2004, Tencent became the largest Chinese instant messaging service (holding 74 percent of the market), prompting Ma to list the company on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. After the company raised $200 million in June's initial public offering (IPO), Ma quickly became one of the richest people in China's telecom industry.

In 2004, Tencent launched an online gaming platform and started selling virtual seminal s to support the games published on that platform (weapons, gaming power), as well as emoticons and ringtones.

At Ma's behest, Tencent launched in 2005 the C2C platform Paipai.com ({{lang|zh|拍拍网}}), a direct competitor to e-commerce giant Alibaba.{{Cite web|title = Tech in Asia - Connecting Asia's startup ecosystem|url = https://www.techinasia.com/tencent-ceo-pony-ma-talks-wechat-mobile-global-competition|website = www.techinasia.com|access-date = 2016-01-12|language = en-US}}

Mimicking Microsoft, Ma created two competing teams of engineers in 2010 and charged them with creating a new product. After two months, one team presented an app for text messaging and group chat – WeChat – which launched in January 2011. {{As of|2015}}, WeChat ({{lang|zh|微信}}, Weixin), is the largest instant messaging platform in the world, used by 48 percent of Internet users in the Asia-Pacific region.{{Cite web|title = Internet Users In Malaysia Are More Active On WhatsApp And Facebook Than Those In US, UK And China [REPORT]|url = http://dazeinfo.com/2015/10/09/facebook-whatsapp-wechat-usage-malaysia-us-uk-china-instant-messaging-report/|website = Dazeinfo|access-date = 2016-01-12|first = Swathi R.|last = M| date=October 9, 2015 }}

Other diverse services provided by Tencent include web portals, e-commerce, and multiplayer online games.^[8] Online games such as Legend of Yulong and Legend of Xuanyuan boosted revenue by more than half, up to US$5.1 billion, with a US$1.5 billion profit margin.

In December 2015, Ma announced that Tencent would build an "internet hospital" set up in Wuzhen that will provide long-distance diagnoses and medicine delivery.{{Cite web|title = What are the next big things in the world of high technology? Let China's internet giants tell you|url = http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1892502/what-are-next-big-things-world-high-technology-let-chinas-internet-giants|website = South China Morning Post| date=December 18, 2015 |access-date = 2016-01-12}}

Other activities

= Philanthropy =

In 2016, Ma transferred US$2.3 billion worth of his personal Tencent shares to his charitable foundation, the Ma Huateng Global Foundation ({{lang|zh|马化腾环球基金会}}).{{cite web |last1=Flannery |first1=Russell |title=Tencent Rally Adds Billions to Chairman's Philanthropy Pile, Highlights China Influence |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/russellflannery/2017/10/08/tencent-rally-adds-billions-to-chairmans-philanthropy-pile-highlights-china-influence/#4017d3277abc |website=Forbes |accessdate=15 September 2020 |date=8 October 2017 |quote=Ma in July 2016 set aside 100 million shares from his personal Tencent holdings for the Ma Huateng Global Foundation, Tencent has said. At that time, the 100 million shares were worth $2.3 billion – a very large commitment.}} However, Forbes has not decreased his net worth, as the shares are still listed under his name.{{cite web|title=Ma Huateng|url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/ma-huateng/|website=Forbes|language=en|access-date=26 November 2024}}

= Politics =

According to the official Tencent website, Ma is a deputy to the 5th Shenzhen Municipal People's Congress and served in the 12th National People's Congress.

Speaking of censorship at a technology conference in Singapore, Ma was quoted as saying: "In terms of information security management, online companies from any country must abide by a defined set of criteria, and act responsibly. Otherwise it might lead to hearsay, libel and argument among citizens—not to mention between countries. That's why the need for online management is increasingly urgent."{{Cite book|title = Culture and Economy in the Age of Social Media|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=YnwcBgAAQBAJ|publisher = Routledge|date = 2015-01-09|isbn = 9781317558194|first = Christian|last = Fuchs|page=296}}

Personal life

Ma uses the nickname Pony, derived from the English translation of his family name Ma ({{lang|zh|马}}), which means "horse." Ma Huateng seldom appears in the media and is known for his secretive lifestyle.{{Cite web|title = Pony Ma and his Tencent|url = http://luxatic.com/pony-ma-and-his-tencent/|website = Luxatic| date=April 15, 2015 |access-date = 2016-01-12|language = en-US}}

Ma Huateng's wealth comes from the 9.7 percent stake in Tencent Holdings. He reportedly owns property in Hong Kong and art pieces worth US$150 million.{{Cite web|title = Ma vs. Ma: The most expensive house in Hong Kong belongs to one of China's internet kings - but is it Jack or Pony?|url = http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/1866197/who-takes-title-owner-most-expensive-residence-hong-kong-jack?page=all|website = South China Morning Post| date=October 11, 2015 |access-date = 2016-01-12}} He owns a redeveloped palatial residence of {{convert|1820|m2|sqft|abbr=on}} in Hong Kong.

On April 28, 2018, Ma Huateng's book "China on Fingertips" was officially launched, telling the story of the entire social transformation process of China as a mobile Internet power.