Businessperson of the Year

Rank
27
Previous: 26 Next: 28

Pony Ma

Tencent & JD.COM Strategic Cooperation Press Conference In Beijing
BEIJING, CHINA - OCTOBER 17: (CHINA OUT) Pony Ma, Executive Director, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, co-founder of Tencent, attends a press conference for the strategic cooperation between Tencent and JD.com on October 17, 2015 in Beijing, China. The theme of the press conference is that Tencent and JD.com aim to develop new electric brand of Brand-Commerce together with their optimum resources in the future. (Photo by ChinaFotoPress/ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images)Photograph by ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images
  • Title
    CEO
  • Company
    Tencent

Knowledge is power, and Tencent has plenty of both in China. Its WeChat social network is the country’s Facebook equivalent and allows Tencent to tap into the lives of 600 million users, offering taxis, online banking, and other services. In the third quarter, revenue climbed 34% to $4.2 billion, profits also rose 34%, to $1.2 billion, and net profit margin stayed steady at 34%. Oh, and amid a Chinese stock market crash, Tencent shares are up a tidy 24% over the past year.