Stanley Ho, an Asian casino giant, is splitting most of his empire up between his relatives. Recently there have been major arguments as to who will gain most of what he owns. And not without good reason: within the world, Ho owns a good share of the gambling market, worth approximately $1.6 billion.
The Drama
Ho has 16 children and 4 wives. Within this, there has been a massive power struggle as could well be imagined. Currently, his last ‘wife’ will gain 6 percent of Lanceford, a holding business which looks after 32 percent of SJM’s shareholder, Sociedade de Turismo e Diversoes de Macau. Another 25.54 percent will be split between certain other members of the family. Ho will then only own 32 percent.
In terms of his private life, Ho has four wives. Due to the Qing dynasty code, he is able to have a number of wives and so, while still married to his first, Ho took a second. However, in 1971, this was made illegal. And so, Ho’s third and fourth marriages aren’t actually recognized by law.
The Past
Earlier in the month, Ho dropped a lawsuit which he’d filed against certain members of his family. This was based on the fact that he wanted to regain a certain percentage of his shares. However, now the news is that settlements have been reached and all has been forgotten.
This is actually the second lawsuit that Ho has brought against his family. In early 2011, he raised issues over a transfer that had been made for his family in terms of his second and third wives. The argument is that Ho was fooled into giving over certain shares after he had brain surgery in August 2009.
Ho’s Empire
SJM Holdings currently controls 17 casinos, 2 hotels, and 4 slot machine lounges within Macus. Early this year, it was estimated that this amounted to as much as $3.1 billion. However, recently he was beaten by Leong, who is the mother of his five youngest children, whose wealth is thought to be approximately $1.1 billion. Within the whole of Asia, SJM Holdings is one of the largest gambling operators, and within Macau, it is the one that brings in the most profit. For four decades, Ho had a major hold. However, certain licenses saw the end of this monopoly.
Macau has been doing well financially since it began to break down its gambling monopoly in around 2003. Ho’s casinos are still very big players in the gambling world, being up against huge corporations like MGM Resorts and Las Vegas Sands Corp. Within the city, they amount to as much as about 30 percent of Macau’s gambling profits. The city has reportedly been doing well within this realm. In 2010, the revenue had reached approximately $23.5 billion. Ho, last year, brought in $456 million with his SJM Holdings company. This is four times as much as 2009 in which he brought in $117 million.