Ma Huateng

Ma Huateng** (born October 29, 1971), ancestral home in Chaoyang County, Guangdong (now Chaonan District, Shantou City), born in Dongfang County, Guangdong Province (now Dongfang City, Hainan Province), is a Chinese entrepreneur and independent political figure. He is the current chairman and CEO of Tencent, based in Shenzhen, Guangdong. He has served as a delegate to the 12th and 13th National People’s Congress of the People's Republic of China.

Ma moved with his family to Shenzhen in 1984. He graduated from the computer science department at Shenzhen University. In November 1998, he founded Tencent. His company's flagship product, Tencent QQ, is one of the most influential personal instant messaging software applications in mainland China. He is often referred to as the “Father of QQ.” In the 2016 Hurun Philanthropy List, Ma donated 13.9 billion yuan, ranking first. In Forbes’ 2019 Billionaires List, he was ranked 20th with a net worth of $38.8 billion, and along with Jack Ma, Zhang Yiming, and Zhong Shanshan, he was among the top ten of the 2021 Forbes China Rich List.

He was named China’s most influential business leader by Fortune and was listed in Time’s 100 Most Influential People and among the “100 Outstanding Private Entrepreneurs” of 40 years of reform and opening-up.

Biography

Ma Huateng was born in Bāsuǒ Port, Dongfang County, Hainan Autonomous Prefecture in October 1971. As a child, he attended Bāsuǒ Port School. In 1984, he moved to Shenzhen with his parents and studied at Shenzhen Middle School. In 1989, he entered Shenzhen University, majoring in computer science.

He graduated in 1993 and began working at Runxun Communications Development Co., starting as a software engineer developing paging software and later promoted to development department manager. In 1998, he founded Tencent.

In 2004, he received CCTV's “Emerging Figure of the Year in Economics” award with a net worth of 898 million yuan. In 2009, he was named one of China’s “Business Leaders of the Decade.” That same year, Ma purchased three duplex apartments in Hong Kong’s prestigious "The Legend" for HK$157 million, totaling 7,183 square feet, at HK$21,857 per square foot. In 2010, he ranked 249th on Forbes’ list and 6th among mainland Chinese billionaires. On May 14, 2010, he was ranked 5th on the New Fortune 500 Rich List with assets of 33.62 billion yuan.

In 2013, Ma topped the “3000 China Family Wealth List” by Wealth Weekly with 46.7 billion yuan. He ranked 3rd on the Hurun Rich List with 62 billion yuan and 5th on the Forbes China Rich List. In April 2016, Ma donated 100 million Tencent shares to establish a charity fund worth 16.5 billion HKD. In August 2017, Tencent's market cap surpassed Alibaba’s, making Ma the richest man in China according to Forbes Real-Time Billionaire List.

In February 2018, he topped the Hurun Global Rich List as the world’s richest Chinese with a net worth of 295 billion yuan. In April 2020, he ranked 20th on Forbes’ global billionaire list with $38.1 billion in assets.

On April 28, 2018, he published *China at Your Fingertips*, discussing China’s transformation as a mobile internet superpower, with vivid examples from multiple sectors.

He served as vice-chairman of the 12th All-China Youth Federation in 2015. On December 18, 2018, he was awarded the “Pioneer of Reform” medal and recognized as an “Explorer of the Internet+ Initiative” by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council.

Major Publications

• *Internet Plus: A National Strategic Action Roadmap* (2015, CITIC Press)
• *Sharing Economy: A New Economic Proposal for Supply-side Reform* (2016, CITIC Press)
• *China at Your Fingertips* (2018, Foreign Languages Press)
• *Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area* (2018, CITIC Press)

Controversies

Plagiarism and Copying

Tencent under Ma Huateng has been widely criticized for copying product ideas. Industry insiders and competitors have accused Ma of lacking innovation. Former Alibaba CEO Jack Ma once said, “The biggest problem with Tencent’s Paipai is that it lacks innovation. Everything is copied.” Sina's former CEO Wang Zhidong even accused him of being “a notorious plagiarist, copying blatantly and publicly.” Ma responded, “Copying can be understood as learning, absorbing, and improving.”

Billionaire Receiving Housing Subsidy

On October 12, 2010, Ma's name appeared on a Shenzhen government list of high-level talents eligible for housing subsidies, which sparked public backlash. Despite having assets exceeding 29.3 billion yuan, Ma was receiving a monthly housing subsidy of 3,100 yuan. The incident was labeled “robbing the poor to aid the rich,” though the subsidy was technically legal for professional talents.

Family Members

• **Father:** Ma Chenshu – Communist Party member and retired deputy general manager of Yantian Port Group, previously held various positions in port operations and finance.
• **Mother:** Huang Huiqing – First chairman of Tencent, held 60% of shares during its founding, now retired.

External Links

• [China at Your Fingertips (Douban)](https://book.douban.com/subject/30216204/)