Stanley Ho, patriarch of Asia’s largest casino empire and the ‘King of Gambling’ for more than half a century, dies at 98

Stanley Ho Hung-sun, the patriarch of Asia’s largest casino empire for half a century and a man whose very name is synonymous with Macau’s rise to overtake Las Vegas as the world’s gambling capital, has died, according to his family. He was 98. He is survived by 15 of the 17 children he had with four women. Ho referred to the mothers of his children as his wives, three of whom also survive him.

“Although we know the day will come, it does not ease our sorrow,” said Pansy Ho Chiu-king, the eldest child from Ho’s second marriage, adding that the tycoon passed away at 1pm at the Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital. “Dad will stay in people’s hearts forever and our family will continue to [contribute] to society.”

Ho leaves behind a gambling empire that contributed to as much as half of the tax receipts earned by the Macau government, a heft that made him the first living Macanese to have an avenue in the territory named after him. One of Asia’s richest men for decades, Ho’s personal fortune wasestimated at HK$50 billion (US$6.4 billion) when he retired in 2018 just months before his 97th birthday.

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