Ma Huateng

Ma Huateng (Chinese: 马化腾; pinyin: Mǎ Huàténg, born on October 29, 1971) is a Chinese billionaire business magnate. He is the co-founder and chief executive officer of Tencent, one of the most valuable companies in Asia, one of the largest internet and technology companies, and one of the biggest investment, gaming and entertainment conglomerates in the world. The company 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, and 2018, Time magazine named him one of the world’s most influential people, 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. In 2018, he was named one of the “Most Powerful People In The World” by the CEOWORLD magazine. Ma was a deputy to the Shenzhen Municipal People’s Congress and a delegate in the 12th National People’s Congress.

Being one of “Fortune world’s greatest leaders”, Ma is known for his low profile personality as compared to fellow Chinese businessman and Alibaba founder Jack Ma‘s outgoing personality. Ma has been compared to American investor Warren Buffett for their similar investment approaches, and often described as an “aggressive acquisitor”.

As of May 2023, he has a net worth of US$37.2 billion according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Ma Huateng ranks fourth in the list of Forbes’s China’s 100 Richest, with a net worth of US$23.4 billion in December 2022. In November 2017, his net worth briefly surpassed that of Larry Page and Sergey Brin (individually) ranking him the ninth richest man in the world, and the first citizen from China to enter Forbes’ top 10 richest list, though the net worth of Page and of Brin have each since eclipsed that of Ma.

The majority of Ma’s wealth is derived from a 7.4% stake in Tencent Holdings, a publicly traded instant messaging company. Its WeChat application had 1.3 billion users as of March 31, 2023, according to a company presentation.

Ma owns his stake through the holding company Advanced Data Services, according to the company’s 2022 annual report.The value of his cash investments is based on an analysis of dividends, insider transactions, taxes and market performance. Gifts including $2.3 billion in Tencent shares that were transferred to a charitable foundation in 2016 are excluded from the net worth calculation.He also owns properties in Hong Kong, according to local media reports. The properties are valued based on the reported purchase price and adjusted to reflect the market price change recorded by Hong Kong’s Rating and Valuation Department.Canny Lo, a Tencent spokeswoman, confirmed Ma’s stake in the internet company and his irrevocable donation to the foundation.

Table of Contents

Biography

Education: Shenzhen University

Ma Huateng was born in Shantou, a city in southern China’s Guangdong province, in 1971. His father, Ma Chenshu, moved the family to Hainan, an island off the south coast, and later to Shenzhen, near Hong Kong, where he got a job as a port manager. Ma graduated from Shenzhen University, where he studied computer science, in 1993. His first job was developing software for pagers at China Motion Telecom Development, a supplier of telecommunications services and products in Shenzhen. He earned $176 per month.

Along with a Shenzhen University classmate, Zhang Zhidong, Ma co-founded Tencent in November 1998. The company’s name in mandarin, Tengxun, means galloping message. Its first product was instant messaging software similar to AOL’s ICQ chat service. At first, Ma called the product OICQ, and changed it to QQ a few years later.

The free messaging service attracted more users, requiring more money to maintain it, and in 2000, IDG Venture Investment Fund and PCCW, one of Hong Kong’s largest telecom providers, invested $4.4 million in Tencent, each taking a 20 percent stake. Tencent sold shares to the public in Hong Kong in 2004 and is now China’s largest internet community, offering services including chat, group messaging, news portals, and entertainment as well as e-commerce. It joined the benchmark Hang Seng Index in 2009, replacing PCCW.

Ma sought to boost his company’s competitiveness ahead of the initial public offering of Jack Ma’s Alibaba Group, and in August 2014, Tencent expanded its messaging services, using the technology to push customers to its e-commerce partners. Later that month, he teamed with billionaires Wang Jianlin of Dalian Wanda Group and Baidu’s Robin Li in an online shopping venture.

Philanthropy

In 2016, Ma transferred US$2.3 billion worth of his personal Tencent shares to his charitable foundation, the Ma Huateng Global Foundation (马化腾环球基金会). However, Forbes has not decreased his net worth, as the shares are still listed under his name.

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.”

Personal life

Ma uses the nickname Pony, derived from the English translation of his family name Ma (马), which means “horse.” Ma Huateng seldom appears in the media and is known for his secretive lifestyle.

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. He owns a redeveloped palatial residence of 1,820 m² (19,600 sq ft) in Hong Kong.