Casino billionaire Stanley Ho died at the age of 98. He single-handedly turned the Chinese town of Macau into a gambling mecca. He was called the King of Gambling or even godfather. And that was by no means too much honor. Because the compelling biography of Stanley Ho Hung-Sun can be read as an exciting blockbuster from Hollywood.
His gambling empire at its peak included twenty casinos in Macau, but Ho also had interests in hotels, real estate, chain stores and the airport of the Chinese gambling city. His heirs are very happy with the size of his empire. According to Forbes, they swim in many billions of dollars, even considering the family is large: four (ex-) wives and seventeen children.
“Legendary achievements”
Ho died in the Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital. One of his daughters gave a short press conference in front of the hospital entrance:
“Our four families are united in our grief and respect for his legendary achievements, everything he has done in life for Hong Kong, with Hong Kong, Macau and all his charitable donations.”
Ho dead, shares on the rise
It is noteworthy that after the announcement of the sad news, the shares of Ho’s empire SJM rose by as much as 8.5 percent. According to casino consultant Ben Lee, that’s because all four of Ho’s families were on television together to talk about the death of their husband or father. Previously, they were quite upset and all of them are involved in SJM in some way. Investors apparently now think that the cold is out of the blue.
