Stanley Ho facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Stanley Ho
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何鴻燊
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Ho in 2006
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| Member of the Standing Committee of the CPPCC (9th, 10th, 11th) |
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| In office March 1998 – March 2013 |
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| Chairman | |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Ho Hung-sun
25 November 1921 British Hong Kong |
| Died | 26 May 2020 (aged 98) Happy Valley, Hong Kong |
| Nationality | Chinese Portuguese |
| Spouses |
Clementina Leitão Ho
(m. 1942; died 2004)Lucina Azul Jean Ying
(m. 1957)Ina Chan
(m. 1977)Leong On-kei
(m. 1988) |
| Children | 17 |
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| Alma mater |
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| Occupation | Businessman |
Stanley Ho Hung-sun (25 November 1921 – 26 May 2020) was a very successful businessman from Hong Kong and Macau. He was known for building a huge business empire. People often called him the Godfather or King of Gambling. This was because his company, SJM Holdings, had a special permission from the government to run almost all the casinos in Macau for 40 years.
Stanley Ho's businesses were very big. They included entertainment, tourism, shipping, real estate, banking, and even air travel. It's thought that his companies employed about a quarter of all the workers in Macau! Besides Hong Kong and Macau, he also invested in many other countries. In his later years, he started to share control of his businesses with his family. Stanley Ho passed away on May 26, 2020, at the age of 98.
Contents
Stanley Ho's Early Life and Education
Stanley Ho came from a family with mixed backgrounds, including Chinese, Dutch-Jewish, and English roots. His great-grandfather was Charles Henry Maurice Bosman, and his grandfather was Ho Fook. Ho Fook was the brother of another famous businessman, Sir Robert Ho Tung. Stanley Ho was one of thirteen children.
His School Days
Stanley Ho went to Queen's College, Hong Kong. When he started, he was in Class D, which was the lowest class level at that time. This was because his school results were not very good. However, he worked hard and later earned a scholarship to the University of Hong Kong. He was the first student from Class D to ever get a university scholarship! Sadly, his university studies were cut short in 1942 because of World War II.
Building a Business Empire
After his studies were interrupted, Stanley Ho started working in Macau. He got a job at a Japanese company that bought and sold goods. During World War II, he made his first money by moving luxury goods across the border from Macau into China. In 1943, he used his earnings to start his own kerosene company. He also set up a construction company.
Winning the Casino Business
In 1961, Stanley Ho and his business partners decided to try and win the special permission to run all the casinos in Macau. They promised to invest a lot of money and help Macau's tourism and buildings grow. They won the bid, beating the families who had run the casinos for a long time. Their company was called Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau, or STDM for short.
STDM's main casino hotel, the Lisboa Casino Hotel, became very famous around the world. In the same year, Ho also started Shun Tak Holdings Ltd. This company owns a large fleet of fast boats called jetfoils, which carry people between Hong Kong and Macau.
Stanley Ho's investments in Macau were very varied. In 1989, he became the chairman of the Macau Jockey Club. In 1998, a street in Macau was named after him, which was a special honor for a living person. He also started Asia's first lottery for football and basketball, called SLOT.
Important Roles and Contributions
Stanley Ho held many important positions in business and the community. He helped lead many different companies and organizations.
Business Roles
- Chairman Emeritus of Shun Tak Holdings Limited.
- Chairman of Seng Heng Bank Limited.
- Director of Shun Tak Shipping Company, Limited.
- Chairman of iAsia Technology Limited.
- Chairman of the Chinese Recreation Club in Hong Kong.
- Founder of Sociedade de Turismo e Diversoes de Macau, SARL (STDM).
- Chairman of SJM Holdings Limited (he retired from this role in 2018).
- He also invested in many other areas, including new businesses and real estate in places like Singapore and London.
Community Contributions
- President of the Real Estate Developers Association of Hong Kong.
- Chairman of the board of directors for the University of Hong Kong Foundation for Educational Development and Research.
- Member of the Court and Council of the University of Hong Kong.
- Member of the Court of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
- Member of the board of trustees for the Better Hong Kong Foundation.
- Member of the Council of the University of Macau.
- Founder of the Dr. Stanley Ho Medical Development Foundation.
Political Involvement
In 1987, Portugal agreed to give Macau back to China in 1999. Stanley Ho was part of the group that advised on this change. He was also a member of the Standing Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
He was also involved in:
- The committee that chose the first government for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
- The committee that advised on the Basic Law for the Hong Kong SAR.
Stanley Ho's Family Life
Stanley Ho had 17 children with four women, whom he referred to as his wives.
- In 1942, he married Clementina Ângela Leitão. They had four children. Sadly, their son Robert and his wife died in a car accident in 1981. Clementina passed away in 2004.
- In the late 1950s, he met Lucina Azul Jean Ying. They had five children, including Daisy Ho, who later took over as chairman of SJM, and Pansy Ho, who is a partner in MGM Macau. Their son Lawrence Ho is also a CEO of a casino company. Their daughter Josie Ho is a singer and actress.
- Stanley Ho started a relationship with Ina Chan in 1985. She was a nurse who helped care for Clementina. They had three children together.
- In 1988, he met Angela Leong On-kei, who was his dance instructor. They had four children. Angela Leong is now a member of the Legislative Assembly in Macau.
Personal Interests
Stanley Ho loved dancing and was very good at the tango, cha-cha-cha, and waltz. He often danced for TV charity events and supported many dance performances in Hong Kong and Macau. He was a patron of the Hong Kong Ballet and other dance organizations. He also owned several thoroughbred racehorses, including one named Viva Pataca, after Macau's currency.
In July 2009, Stanley Ho had a fall at home and needed brain surgery. He spent several months in the hospital. He made one public appearance in December 2009 to meet the Chinese president in Macau. He was discharged from the hospital in March 2010 and used a wheelchair after that.
Giving Back to the Community
Stanley Ho was also known for his generous donations.
Returning Historical Items
In 2003, Stanley Ho gave a bronze boar's head from the Qing dynasty to China's Poly Art Museum. This boar's head was one of twelve animal heads taken from the imperial Summer Palace in Beijing in 1860. On September 21, 2007, he also donated a bronze horse's head from the Qing dynasty, which he had bought for a large sum of money, back to the Chinese government.
Awards and Honours
Stanley Ho received many awards and honors throughout his life for his contributions to society.
- In 1984, he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Macau.
- In 1990, he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (O.B.E.) for his service to the community in Hong Kong.
- In 1995, the Government of Portugal gave him the Grã-Cruz da Ordem do Infante Dom Henrique, which is the highest honor for a civilian.
- In 1998, a street in Macau was named Dr. Stanley Ho Avenue, making him the first living Chinese person to receive this honor in Macau.
- In 2001, he was one of the first people to receive the Golden Lotus Medal of Honour from Macau.
- In 2003, he received the Gold Bauhinia Star from the Chief Executive of Hong Kong.
- In 2007, he received the Grand Lotus Medal of Honour from Macau.
- In 2008, a street in Portugal was renamed Avenida Stanley Ho, making it the first road in Portugal named after a living Chinese citizen.
- In 2009, he received the Visionary award at the G2E Asia conference.
- In 2010, he was awarded the Grand Bauhinia Medal, the highest honor in Hong Kong.
His Final Years
Stanley Ho's health was not good in his last years, especially after his stroke in 2009. He stayed in the hospital for a long time. On May 25, 2020, it was reported that he was in a very serious condition. He passed away the next day, on May 26, 2020, at the Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital. He was 98 years old.
See also
- Economy of Macau
- Legal system of Macau
- List of graduates of University of Hong Kong
- List of billionaires
- Politics of Macau
- List of oldest fathers
