AOL Arbitration and Business Expansion

In 1998, after AOL (America Online) acquired ICQ, the company filed an arbitration case against Tencent with the National Arbitration Forum in the U.S., claiming that the domain names OICQ.com and OICQ.net violated ICQ's trademark. Tencent lost the case and was required to relinquish the domain names. In December 2000, Ma Huateng renamed the software to QQ, where "Q" and "QQ" originally stood for "cute."

Following the AOL dispute, Ma diversified Tencent's business model. In 2003, the company launched its own portal, QQ.com, and expanded into the online gaming market. By 2004, Tencent had become the largest instant messaging service in China, holding 74% of the market share. This success led Ma to list Tencent on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, raising $200 million in its initial public offering (IPO) in June of that year. This milestone established Ma as one of the wealthiest figures in China's telecommunications sector.

To further monetize the QQ platform, Tencent introduced an online gaming platform in 2004, selling virtual items such as gaming weapons, power-ups, emoticons, and ringtones. These digital products significantly boosted revenue.

In 2005, Ma directed Tencent to enter the e-commerce space by launching Paipai.com (拍拍网), a C2C platform designed to compete with Alibaba.

Development of WeChat and Further Expansion

Inspired by Microsoft's competitive development strategy, Ma initiated a similar approach in 2010, forming two rival engineering teams tasked with creating a new messaging product. After two months, one team developed WeChat (微信), a platform for text messaging and group chats, which launched in January 2011. By 2015, WeChat had become the largest messaging app in the world, used by 48% of internet users in the Asia-Pacific region.

Tencent continued expanding into diverse services, including web portals, e-commerce, and multiplayer online gaming. Popular titles such as Legend of Yulong and Legend of Xuanyuan contributed to a revenue surge, exceeding $5.1 billion, with profits reaching $1.5 billion.

In December 2015, Ma announced Tencent's plans to launch an "Internet hospital" in Wuzhen, providing long-distance medical diagnoses and medicine delivery services, further extending Tencent’s influence into the healthcare sector.

Other Activities

Philanthropy

In 2016, Ma Huateng transferred $2.3 billion worth of his personal Tencent shares to his charitable organization, the Ma Huateng Global Foundation (马化腾环球基金会). Despite the transfer, Forbes did not adjust his net worth, as the shares were still officially registered under his name.

The foundation focuses on areas such as education, public health, technology development, and disaster relief, reflecting Ma's commitment to giving back to society while maintaining his influence in the corporate world.

Politics

According to Tencent's official website, Ma Huateng has served as a deputy to the 5th Shenzhen Municipal People's Congress and was a delegate in the 12th National People's Congress.

During a technology conference in Singapore, Ma emphasized the importance of online content regulation, stating that:

“Online companies, regardless of their country of origin, must adhere to established standards and act responsibly in managing information security. Failure to do so could result in the spread of rumors, defamation, and disputes—not only among citizens but also between nations. This underscores the growing need for effective online governance.”