Ma Huateng Net Worth, Biography, Career and Assets

Ma Huateng Net Worth  $48 billion

One of china’s leading businessmen who is usually in the news for his reputation as one of the wealthiest internet entrepreneurs the world has ever known is Pony Ma Huateng, who, as of this writing, owns a wealth that Forbes magazine estimates at 48 billion dollars.

Mr. Ma Huateng, nicknamed “Pony,” is best known for being the founder, president, and chief executive officer of Tencent Holdings Limited, a successful telecommunications company in China where he also serves as an executive board member.

His responsibilities at the company have been paying off over the last decades and have resulted in making Ma one of the richest people in the world. More details follow below.

Early Life: Childhood, Education

Ma Huateng was in 1971 to Chinese parents in Chaoyang, Guangdong province, china. He attended Shenzhen University and graduated from the Computer Science Department. He also earned his B.S. in software engineering in 1993.

Professional Life: Business Career

After graduating from college, Ma joined China Motion Telecom Development, Ltd. to start his career. With that company, he paid attention to and contributed to the Internet paging system development.

From there, he joined Shenzhen Runxun Communications Co., Ltd. as one of its employees and once more was engaged in research and development.

In 1998, Ma and four of his friends joined forces and founded Tencent Limited. One year later, the company introduced a product named Tencent QQ, which went viral in China and brought success and immense wealth to the company.

Tencent soon expanded to become the biggest instant communication service network in China. Along with its massive expansion, the telecom company added more numbers to its workforce, and eventually, Ma was named chairman of the board, the chief executive officer, and the executive board member.

It did not take long for the company to grow in popularity, and its fame was fueled by its popular instant messaging app, Tencent QQ, and by the introduction of a number of popular online multiplayer games including “League of Legends”.

Billed as “the Chinese AOL”, today, Ma’s company, Tencent, encompasses multiple social networks, web portals, and e-commerce as well. As of 2005, he was the 65th wealthiest Chinese person and Time Magazine recognized him for his role in the economic and technological landscape of China.

Though Tencent has remained quite popular, the company’s value has fluctuated over the years. It has been on the decline for the past few years as well. As the current chairman of Tencent, Ma Huateng’s net worth makes him one of China’s richest businessmen and also one of the wealthiest entrepreneurs of all time.

Philanthropy

In 2016, the businessman transferred 2.3 billion dollars worth of his personal Tencent shares to a charity foundation, the Ma Huateng Global Foundation, which he actually owns. However, his net worth has not been decreased by finance review sites like Forbes magazine and Bloomberg as the shares of the company which he transferred to charity are still listed under his name.

Political Involvement

Mr. Ma also maintains a strong presence in the field of politics within China. According to the official Tencent website, the businessman and philanthropist is a deputy to the 5th Shenzhen Municipal People’s Congress. He also served in the 12th National People’s Congress.

Personal Life: Marriage, Children, Private Interests

CEO Ma has been married to Wang Danting for many years now and they live together with their children in Shenzhen, China.

He seldom appears in the media, never gives out private details or any information that is not connected to his businesses and company, and is known for his secretive lifestyle.

Pony Ma Huateng Net Worth: Salary, Income Sources, Assets

This internet entrepreneur is known as one of the richest in the world. His net worth is currently pegged at 48 billion dollars. Ma Huateng, nicknamed “Pony,” has been able to amass such wealth from Tencent Holdings Limited which he founded.

He also serves as the president, chief executive officer, and executive board member of the company which is known to be one of the most successful telecommunications companies in China.

Ma Huateng’s net worth comes from the 9.7 percent shares he owns in Tencent Holdings. He reportedly owns art pieces and property in Hong Kong worth more than $150 million. His redeveloped palatial residence of 19,600 sq ft in Hong Kong is valued at.

Tencent Holdings is the operator of China’s largest instant-messaging service and its stake in this company is controlled through Advanced Data Services. Despite donating $2.3 billion worth of Tencent stock to a charitable foundation in 2016, Mr. Ma is still rich enough to belong in the top 5 richest Chinese businesspersons’ list.