Stanley Ho, the King of Gambling for more than half a century, dies at 98

Stanley Ho Hung-sun, the patriarch of Asia’s largest casino empire for half a century and a man whose very name is synonymous with Macau’s rise to overtake Las Vegas as the world’s gambling capital, has died.

He was 98.

He is survived by 16 of the 17 children he had with four women.

Ho referred to the mothers of his children as his wives, three of whom also survive him.

One of Asia’s richest men for decades, Ho’s personal fortune was estimated at HK$50 billion (US$6.4 billion) when he retired in 2018 just months before his 97th birthday.

Stanley Ho Hung-sun Ho was descended from great-grandfather Charles Henry Maurice Bosman, a Dutch Jewish ancestry, and his Chinese mistress Sze Tai, in 1921His university studies in Hong Kong were cut short by the outbreak of World War II.

In 1942, he fled from the Japanese and settled in Macau.Ho made his first fortune smuggling luxury goods across the Chinese border from Macau during World War II.Ho had been nicknamed variously Godfather and King of Gambling, owns 19 casinos in Macau .One of Asia’s richest men for decades, Ho’s personal fortune was estimated at HK$50 billion (US$6.4 billion)He is survived by 16 of the 17 children he had with four women.He passed away at the Hong Kong Sanatorium Hospital in Hong Kong May 26 at 98