Do we like them?

Do we like Ma Huateng?

Our score: 5 out of 10. A big charity pledge and no harmful words of his own turned up, but thin evidence and a company that follows Beijing's censorship rules keep it middling.

Ma Huateng, known abroad as Pony Ma, is the co-founder, chairman and chief executive of Tencent, the Chinese giant behind WeChat and a huge games business. He has also been a deputy in China's National People's Congress since 2013, and has filed written proposals on topics like fintech, small business and the environment.

Here's the honest bit: Ma is famously private, and the pages we could open don't carry any interviews where he talks about LGBTQ+ people, women, migrants or climate. We can't tell you what he believes, only what he and his company have done. That is a thin file, and we'd rather say so than fill it with guesses.

On the harm side, the thing to know is who calls the shots. In a December 2022 staff meeting, reported by two anonymous employees, he warned the gaming division to accept Beijing's strict licensing regime. Tencent operates inside a system where the state sets the rules on content, and that's a real concern for anyone who cares about free expression, but it is the company's situation, not a campaign of his own against any group.

The biggest recent shock was in January 2025, when the US Defense Department added Tencent to its list of firms it says aid the Chinese military. Tencent called the move a mistake, said its business would be unaffected, and planned to start a reconsideration process and pursue legal action if needed. It is a geopolitical stoush, not a finding about Ma's character.

On the nice test, the same 2022 report says he told staff some projects were barely viable and that internal reviews had found unspecified corruption and management problems, which is a boss cleaning house. Tencent didn't comment on that report. We found no accusations of him mistreating staff or fans.

The good stuff is real money. In April 2021 he committed 50 billion yuan, about US$7.7 billion, to a sustainable social values program covering renewable energy, science education, health care, rural development and carbon neutrality. Cynics note it landed while regulators were circling the company, so where you land depends on whether you read it as generosity or as smart politics.