Who founded Tencent?
Pony Ma just earned the title of China's richest man
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Billionaire Ma Huateng is the co-founder and CEO of Tencent, the Chinese tech company that runs the popular social media platform WeChat.
Ma, 48, also happens to hold the title of China's richest man with a fortune of more than $57 billion, according to Forbes.
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Tencent is solidifying its rank as one of China's most powerful tech companies and has expanded into gaming, mobile payments and entertainment. The company has also spun off its music streaming business to partner with Spotify. Forbes estimates Tencent's market capitalization at $509.7 billion.
Pony Ma Huateng, chairman and chief executive officer of Tencent Holdings Ltd., attends China (Shenzhen) IT Summit at Wuzhou Guest House on March 25, 2018, in Shenzhen, China. (Visual China Group via Getty Images/Visual China Group via Getty Images)
Ma is also known as "Pony Ma" because his surname translates to "horse" in English. He was born in Guangdong province, China, according to Encyclopedia Brittanica.
Pony Ma co-founded Tencent just five years after graduating with a bachelor's degree in computer science from Shenzhen University.
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He has previously said his idol is Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.
Ma is known for staying out of the public eye, unlike another Chinese tech billionaire, Jack Ma, who is outspoken about everything from his charitable donations to the future of artificial intelligence.
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Tencent's WeChat, China's most used social media platform, has approximately 1 billion users. It is also known as Weixin, which means "micro message."
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