Ma Huateng

This is a Chinese name; the family name is 馬 (Ma).
Ma Huateng
马化腾
Born October 29, 1971 (1971-10-29) (age 40)
Chaoyang District, Shantou, Guangdong, China
Residence Guangdong, China
Nationality Chinese
Alma mater Shenzhen University
Occupation Chairman of Tencent
Net worth US$ 5 billion (2011)[1]
Website
qq.com

Ma Huateng (simplified Chinese: 马化腾; traditional Chinese: 馬化騰; pinyin: Mǎ Huàténg, born October 29, 1971 in Chaoyang, Guangdong, China) is a Chinese entrepreneur. The founder of Tencent Inc.,[2][3] a famous Chinese internet company, he graduated from Shenzhen University.[4]

Ma, nicknamed "Pony", co-founded Tencent in 1998.[2] The company's first product, an instant message tool named Tencent QQ, became very popular in China. Tencent soon expanded to become "China's answer to AOL".[5] Now its diverse services include social networks, Web portals, e-commerce, and multiplayer online games.[6]

The magazines Forbes and Time have recognized Ma for his accomplishments. In 2005 the former named him the 68th richest person in China, and in 2007 Time called him one of the world's most influential people.[5]

References

  1. ^ "The 400 Richest Chinese". Forbes. http://www.forbes.com/profile/huateng-ma/. 
  2. ^ a b Investing in China: The Emerging Venture Capital Industry Jonsson Yinya Li, Google Book Search
  3. ^ Tencent Tencent official site
  4. ^ Introduction of Shenzhen University, Shenzhen University Official Site .Retrieved 2010-10-28..
  5. ^ a b Biographical Dictionary of New Chinese Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders, Pg. 111 Ilan Alon and Wenxian Zhang. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2009. Google Book Search.
  6. ^ Tencent, More Than QQ Instant Messaging In China thechinaobserver.com, undated but posted prior to February 12, 2009