Macao gaming magnate Stanley Ho Hung Sun passed away in Hong Kong at the age of 98 today, his family announced outside Hong Kong Sanatorium and Hospital. His daughter Pansy Ho Chiu King told reporters that her father died at the hospital at 1 p.m.
“Although we knew the day will come, it does not ease our sorrow,” said Pansy Ho who was surrounded by members of the large family.
Stanley Ho, born into a Eurasian family in Hong Kong on November 25, 1921, is survived by three of his wives and 15 of his 17 children.
Pansy Ho said her father died peacefully in his sleep at the hospital where he had stayed for prolonged period of time in the past decade or so.
His family issued a statement this afternoon, headlined: “Mourning the Passing of our Patriarch Dr. Stanley Ho Hung Sun.”
“With profound sadness, we, on behalf of his deceased wife, Clementina Leitao Ho, of his surviving wife, Lucina Laam King Ying, third spouse Ina Chan Un Chan and fourth spouse Angela Leong on Kei, and all his children and grandchildren, jointly announce the passing of our beloved patriarch, Dr. Stanley Ho Hung Sun. Surrounded by all his family members, Dr. Ho passed away peacefully at the Hong Kong Sanatorium and Hospital on 26 May 2020 at the age of 98.”
The statement also underlined that “amongst the many achievements he amassed in the 98 years of his life, Dr. Ho’s charisma, sense of humour and love for dancing will be amongst the many qualities which his peers will fondly remember him by. But to us, his family, his legacy will be the unconditional love he demonstrated. Although we knew this day would come, no words could adequately express our sense of this great loss. He will be missed by all his family members, and all whose lives he had touched.”
Ho dominated the casino business in the former Portuguese colony of Macau after winning a government monopoly licence in the 1960s.
As his fortune grew, he expanded beyond Macau, building residential and office buildings in Hong Kong as well as operating casinos in other countries, including Portugal and North Korea. His personal fortune was estimated at US$6.4bn when he retired in 2018 just months before his 97th birthday.
SJM Holdings flourished as the opening up of China's economy created a flood of new wealth in a country with a love of gambling. SJM now controls 20 casinos on Macau.
Ho had four wives and 17 known children. He was forced to restructure his business after a legal battle erupted within the family in 2012 over his fortune.
He retired gradually from his role as Macao’s “king of gambling” after an accident at his home in Hong Kong in 2009. Macao’s Portuguese-speaking community endearingly called him “Tio Stanley” (“tio” means “uncle” in Portuguese).
Source: GMB
