The legacy of a business tycoon is generally expected to be carried forward by his next of kin, normally his or her children. But when casino tycoon Stanley Ho, whose SJM Holdings owns 19 casinos in Macau, died in 2020, there was great speculation about how his empire would be divided among his 17 children, reports Bloomberg Quint. If you are familiar with the HBO TV series Succession, you would know that the Ho dynasty and the individual child’s right to power would be similar to the plot of the show. In the show, the dysfunctional owners of a media conglomerate are fighting for control of the company amid uncertainty about the health of the family's patriarch. However, in the case of the Ho dynasty, not much of that was fortunately involved.
Stanley Ho had 17 children with four different women he referred to as wives, resulting in a huge and complicated family tree that had seen its share of squabbles. However, they have spared the world a public dispute by most of them going their own different ways. The Casino empire was left to be administered by a select few. The 17 offspring of Ho even showed unity during his funeral in 2020. For SJM, the need to avoid squabbles over inheritance is important as it has been facing a crisis in recent times. Amidst China’s crackdown on the casino industry to transform Macau, SJM lost $4 billion since November 2020, when it was Asia’s 17th richest dynasty, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Now worth $10.6 billion, the Hos are no longer among the region’s 20 wealthiest clans. Even before the patriarch's death, the decision to streamline the firm was made. Three years ago, his second wife's children took control of SJM's board of directors by forming an alliance with another set of shareholders, with none of his other children or surviving wives publicly opposing the deal.
Daisy Ho, Ho's third wife's daughter, has been the CEO of SJM since 2018, while her sister Pansy has been the co-chair of MGM China Holdings Ltd. for many years. They also run Shun Tak Holdings Ltd., a property developer, while their brother Lawrence is the chairman of Melco International Development Ltd. Sabrina Ho, Stanley's fourth wife's daughter, is one of the children who branched out thanks to her father's encouragement. He told her he never bets, which remained with her and encouraged her to explore alternatives to gambling. Having turned to art, she set up Poly Auction Macau, the local unit of China's Poly Culture Group Corp with the help of her family, which deals with everything from art to weapons.
Mario, Ho's eldest son, is a senior executive at a Hong Kong-listed e-sports and gaming firm with aspirations to establish a family office platform in the Greater Bay Area. Josie is a singer and actress who has toured with her rock band and started her own film studio. On her renowned Instagram account, Laurinda promotes her beef noodle franchise.
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