Stanley Ho & His Four Wives — Macau's Casino King

What Happened

Stanley Ho held a monopoly on Macau's casino industry for over 40 years, building a fortune estimated at $3.1 billion. Under Hong Kong's pre-1971 laws that permitted polygamy, Ho maintained relationships with four women who gave him 17 children. His first wife, Clementina Leitao, provided the Portuguese connections that helped him win the original casino license in 1962. His second wife Lucina Laam, third wife Ina Chan, and fourth wife Angela Leong each built their own power bases within the empire.

The family crisis erupted in January 2011, shortly after Ho underwent brain surgery that left him hospitalized for seven months. A company statement announced that Ho had transferred his controlling stake in SJM Holdings to the families of his second and third wives. Ho — through lawyers — immediately contradicted this, filing a lawsuit claiming he did not understand what he was signing due to post-surgical mental fragility.

What followed was a public battle among the four families for control of the casino empire. Angela Leong, the fourth wife who served as managing director of SJM Holdings, fought to maintain her position. Daughter Pansy Ho, from the second wife's family, controlled MGM Macau. Son Lawrence Ho built his own casino company, Melco Resorts. Each family faction retained armies of lawyers across multiple jurisdictions.

A settlement was eventually reached in March 2011, with Ho reportedly regaining some control of his assets. When he died in May 2020 at age 98, his wealth had been divided among the families — Pansy Ho ($5.3 billion), Angela Leong ($4.1 billion), and Lawrence Ho ($2.6 billion) all appeared separately on billionaire lists, each wealthier than their patriarch had been.

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