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Pansy Ho steps into the spotlight as de facto head and uniter of the sprawling clan after the passing of the King of Gambling
- Ho is one of Hong Kong’s richest women, with her wealth estimated at US$4.8 billion by Forbes
- Ho is also shareholder of MGM China, one of the six casino licensees of Macau, while her younger brother Lawrence owns a gambling concession through Melco Resorts
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When Stanley Ho Hung-sun, the patriarch of one of Asia’s wealthiest families and the undisputed gambling king of Macau, suffered a head injury in late 2009, it was his middle child who stepped up to face the media’s intense scrutiny of her father’s health.
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More than a decade later this week, it was Pansy Ho Chiu-king again who faced the cameras on behalf of the extended family of three widows and 16 children to announce the passing, at age 98, of the man who had presided over the world’s casino hub for more than half a century.
Flanked by her mother Lucina Laam and younger brother Lawrence Ho on her left, elder sister Angela Ho – the eldest surviving child from Ho’s first wife – and the late patriarch’s youngest widow Angela Leong On-kei on her right, Pansy Ho delivered a brief statement.
“Although we know the day will come, it does not ease our sorrow,” Ho said at the Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital. “Dad will stay in people’s hearts forever and our family will continue to [contribute] to society.”
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The brief statement was a signal that the businesswoman, 16th on Forbes’ list of Hong Kong’s 50 richest people last year, is stepping into the role as de facto spokesperson of the sprawling clan. A former socialite and actress who turned to business only in her 30s, Ho now controls two of the six casino licences in Macau, which overtook Las Vegas as the world’s gambling capital a decade ago. Her younger brother Lawrence holds one of the six licenses through Melco Resorts & Entertainment.
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