Ma Huateng is a business tycoon, an entrepreneur, an engineer, a philanthropist, and an investor. Huateng is the chairman, founder, and CEO of Asia’s most valuable company and also one of the largest internets and technology companies across the globe Tencent.

In this article, we will like to share the story of Ma Huateng, also recognized as Pony Ma, a Chinese business magnate, engineer, internet and technology, and philanthropist.

Early Life of Ma Huateng

Ma Huateng was born in Chaoyang, China, on the 29th of October 1971. When his father, Ma Chenshu, got work as a port manager in Shenzhen, near Hong Kong, the young Ma accompanied him. Huateng was registered at Shenzhen University in 1989 and then completed his graduation in the year 1993 with a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science.

The Career of Ma Huateng

Ma Huateng’s first job was with China Motion Telecom Development. He reportedly earned $176 per month. During the same time, he also served for the Shenzhen Runxun Communications CO Ltd in the research and development of internet calling services.

Huateng moved on to co-found Tencent in 1998. The company’s first product arrived after Ma participated in a presentation for the ICQ, the world’s first internet instant messaging service, established in the year 1996 by an Israeli company.

In 2009, Huateng told China Daily, he stated:

“If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants, we knew our product had a future, but at that time, we just couldn’t afford it.”

In the year 2000, Ma moved to the US investment firm IDC and Hong Kong’s telecom carrier Pacific Century CyberWorks who got 40% of the Tencent shares for $2.2 million. Moreover, 80% of the company’s income came from deals struck with Telecom operators who agreed to share the message fees.

Tencent

By 1998, Ma Huateng joined four of his friends and laid the foundation of the company ‘Tencent,’ the first funding for which came through venture capitalists. When he thought about starting the first product, Ma remembered attending an event where ‘ICQ,’ the world’s first instant-messaging service, was being launched.

The thought got stuck in Ma’s head, and he considered launching something related for the Chinese market. In February 1999, Ma officially revealed ‘OICQ,’ an instant-messaging service. Shortly after its inauguration, ‘OICQ’ faced a lawsuit from ‘ICQ.’ Thus, it was renamed ‘QQ.’ However, the company was initially not as flourishing as Ma believed it would be. It recorded almost no profit in its first three years.

Despite the company not working as good (because ‘OICQ’ was given free of charge), the product was an instant hit with the Chinese people. Experiencing strong growth, the company looked for more investors to support their operational costs.

‘Tencent’ had already settled its feet in the Chinese telecommunications market, but in order to show earnings and to avoid takeovers by more prominent companies, the company increased its operations. ‘QQ.Com,’ the company’s own portal, was started in 2003. This was observed as ‘Tencent’s official foray into the online gaming market.

Within a year, ‘Tencent’s success shot up quickly. It became the largest instant-messaging service provider by 2004, with a 74% stake in the Chinese market. The share market of Hong Kong listed ‘Tencent.’ Soon, the company increased $200 million, making Ma one of the wealthiest Chinese businessmen.

In 2004, Ma’s sharp marketing intellect created many fresh ideas related to online gaming, such as selling virtual goods to support online gaming. It established the company’s influence. Around the same time, Ma thought of venturing into the e-commerce zone, another fast-growing and highly profitable field.

In 2005, Ma launched ‘Paipai.com,’ a direct rival to China’s biggest e-commerce platform, ‘Alibaba.com.’ By then, ‘Tencent’ had become a massive power to consider in the field of internet gaming, e-commerce, media, entertainment, and instant messaging.

In 2011, ‘Tencent’ had another major finding when the company launched another instant-messaging app, ‘Weixin,’ known in English as ‘WeChat.’ For the development of the app, ‘Tencent’ took the same direction as Bill Gates had taken for ‘Microsoft.’ The company created two teams to work on the product together. Over time, ‘WeChat’ became the most successful instant-messaging service in the world. Most of the credit of its progress goes to its easy interface and the inclusion of paid and unpaid emoticons and ringtones.

The most significant chunk of Ma’s profit came from online video games, which had become a substantial market in the 2010s, as internet access had become more accessible by then. ‘Tencent Games,’ a ‘Tencent’ division, works toward developing video games under ‘Tencent Interactive Entertainment.’ Founded in 2003, ‘Tencent Games’ became the most influential video-game company in the world by 2018.

Apart from running its own gaming division, ‘Tencent’ held major stakes in many other gaming companies, such as ‘Grinding Gear Games,’ ‘Riot Games,’ ‘Miniclip,’ and ‘Supercell.’ Other adventures of ‘Tencent’ include ‘Tenpay’ and ‘Tencent Pictures.’ While the former is an online payment system, the latter is a film production company. In 2014, ‘Tencent’ also collaborated with many influential music-production companies such as ‘Sony’ and ‘Warner Music Group’ for in-China distribution contracts.

Awards and Achievements of Ma Huateng

‘Time’ has honored Ma Huateng various times. He was featured on their list of the most influential people in the world in 2007, 2014, and 2018. In 2015, ‘Forbes’ featured him on their list of the most powerful people in the world. ‘Fortune’ has placed him on their list of the top businessmen of the world in 2017.

In 2018, ‘CEOWORLD Magazine’ honored him with a spot on their list of the ‘Most Powerful People in the World.’ He has often been compared with Warren Buffett, one of the most strong investors in the world.

With his net worth of about $51.1 billion, as of March 2018, Ma is the richest man in China and the 14th-richest man in the world. In November 2017, he became the first Chinese businessman to be featured on ‘Forbes’s list of the top 10 richest men in the world.

Family & Personal Life of Ma Huateng

Ma Huateng is married to Wang Dan-ting and has a daughter named Ma Manlin.

Ma leads a very simple personal life and does not like to communicate with the media. He has frequently being compared with Chinese businessman Jack Ma, but as opposed to the extroverted Jack, Ma Huateng is media-shy.

Ma Huateng is also called “Ma Pony” by his companions, as his Chinese name translates to “horse” in English. Ma also operates a charitable foundation that he has established on his own. In 2016, he gave $2 billion to his charity.

As the Chinese government is a powerful advocate of internet censorship, Ma’s success on the internet has often been questioned. However, Ma has explained that he has a positive outlook toward internet scrutiny, which is necessary in terms of information security.

Net Worth of Ma Huateng

As of 2021 records, the net worth of Tencent CEO Ma Huateng is estimated at around 59.1 billion USD.

Interesting Facts About Tencent CEO Ma Huateng:

Ma Huateng is one of the most strong men in business, there are many things that people do not know about him. Here are few interesting facts about Ma Huateng.

1. He is the Richest Man in China

Ma Huateng is now the richest man in China and the 14th richest man in the world. According to Forbes, his estimated personal net worth is $59.1 billion.

2. His Name is Translated as ‘Horse’

The name ‘Huateng’ is the Chinese word for horse. However, its real translation from Mandarin to English is Pony. It is for this reason that Huateng has got the nickname Pony. In many places, he is mentioned as Pony Ma.

3. His Company Name Also Has a Horse Theme

Tencent, Huateng’s company name, also has a horse theme, although this is irrelevant to the meaning of the businessman’s surname. When he established his instant messaging service, he adopted the name Tencent for his company as a play on the Mandarin characters Teng and Xun. While Teng means galloping, Xun means message. When the two characters are written together, it means a galloping message.

4. He Met His Wife Through His Own Chat Service

The technological advancements of Huateng’s company have helped millions of people across the world. However, he has also taken good advantage of them himself. He even coincided with his wife through his own chat service. They chatted using the service for several months before meeting in person and forming a romantic relationship.

5. He Granted Stocks to His Charitable Foundation

Ma Huateng gave $2 billion of shares from Tencent to his charitable foundation in 2016. However, this did not change his personal net worth recorded by Forbes as the shares were still listed in his own name

6. He Has a Personal Interest in Astronomy

One of Huateng’s greatest passions is astronomy, and this is a long-standing personal interest. His company has even invested in startups that are looking to mine asteroids and the moon for personal resources. Tencent’s chief research officer, David Wallerstein, has said that they are open to the amazing and want to learn what humans can do beyond earth.

7. He is Conscious of Gaming Addiction in Young People

One element of Tencent is video game development and online gaming platforms. The company is accountable for the creation of games, including Clash of Clans, Gears of War, League of Legends, and Honor of Kings. The latter has been defined as being so addictive it is like a drug. When concerns were raised over young people becoming addicted to the game, Huateng answered by limiting the amount of time people under 18 could spend playing the game.

8. He Manages Art and Buys Real Estate

Ma Huateng’s investments go far beyond businesses as he has also invested large sums of money in real estate, especially around Hong Kong. He also has a precious private art collection as art is something that interests him greatly.

9. His Personal Life is a Mystery

While many high-profile people enjoy being in the attention and their personal lives are well-known, that is not the matter with Ma Huateng. He prefers to keep his personal life private, and this has made it a mystery. Even those with whom he works closely are unsure whether Huateng lives in Hong Kong or across the border in Shenzen.

Ma Huateng is undoubtedly a flourishing business tycoon. He is moving ahead with lots of achievements and success. He is a true inspiration for many of us. we hope this article gives you a better understanding of the life of Ma Huateng,