Stanley Ho, the business magnate whose casinos helped propel Macao to become the world’s largest gambling hub, has died at the age of 98, according to multiple media reports.
Born in Hong Kong in 1921, Ho was the founder and chairman of SJM Holdings Ltd., which until 2002 held a monopoly on Macao’s casinos, making the former Portuguese colony the only place in the Greater China region with legal casino-style gambling. The company still owns a number of gambling houses in Macao, including the world-famous Grand Lisboa that was once the city’s largest casino.
Ho died at the Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital, according to CCTV, China’s national state-owned broadcaster. No cause was given.
He is survived by 15 of the 17 children he had with four women. His fortune was worth approximately HK$50 billion ($6.4 billion) upon his retirement in 2018, according to the South China Morning Post.
Contact reporter Matthew Walsh (matthewwalsh@caixin.com) and editor Yang Ge (geyang@caixin.com)
