Ma Huateng
| Mǎ Huàténg 马化腾 |
|
|---|---|
| Born |
October 29, 1971 Chaoyang District, Shantou, Shantou, Guangdong, China |
| Residence | Shenzhen, Guangdong |
| Nationality | Chinese |
| Alma mater | Shenzhen University |
| Occupation | Chairman of Tencent |
| Net worth |
 US$23.9 billion (November 2016) |
| Spouse(s) | Wáng Dāntíng (王丹婷) |
| Children | one |
| Website | qq |
Ma Huateng (Chinese: 马化腾; pinyin: Mǎ Huàténg, born October 29, 1971), also known as Pony Ma, is a Chinese internet entrepreneur. He is the founder, president, chief executive officer and executive board member of Tencent Inc., one of the largest Internet companies in China. The company controls China’s biggest mobile instant messaging service and its subsidiaries provide media, entertainment, internet and mobile phone value-added services.
In 2007 and 2014Time magazine called him one of the world's most influential people. As of 11 November 2016 he is the 30th richest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$23.9 billion, according to the Forbes Global Rich List.
Ma was born in Chaoyang District, Shantou, Guangdong. Not much is known about his early life. In one rare insight into his own psyche, Ma claimed in an interview that as a child he dreamt of becoming an astronomer. When his father, Ma Chenshu, got a job as a port manager in Shenzhen, near Hong Kong, the young Ma accompanied him. His father was a member of the Chinese Communist Party.
He enrolled in Shenzhen University in the wake of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. He graduated in 1993 with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science.
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. He also worked for Shenzhen Runxun Communications Co. Ltd. in the research and development department for Internet calling services.
Alongside four other classmates, Ma Huateng went on to co-found Tencent in 1998, after making money playing the stock market. In the beginning, Ma took up various roles, ranging from janitor to website designer in a bid to keep the company alive. Like many in China’s tech industry, Ma was inspired by innovations coming out of Europe and the United States and sought to adapt them to the Chinese market. 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). 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.
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