A casino tycoon & his 17 children are part of real-life Succession drama

To keep public conflicts largely at bay, some of the offspring have gone their own way, leaving management of the casino empire to a select few

From an outsider’s view, the Ho dynasty would seem to have all the makings of a super-sized, real-life version of HBO’s “Succession.”

The patriarch, the late Stanley Ho, fathered 17 children with four different women he called wives, making for a sprawling and complex family tree that’s had its share of disputes.

“If you only have a core business, you definitely cannot involve everyone,” said Winnie Peng, an adjunct associate professor who studies Asian family businesses at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. “With 17 children, how do you give them different positions and ensure they don’t fight against each other?”

The Hos came up with a different solution: Some of the offspring went their own way, leaving management of the casino empire to a select few. That’s helped keep public conflicts largely at bay — the clan showcased unity at Stanley Ho’s funeral in 2020 — even though a local court was tasked last year with naming administrators for his estate after the family failed to reach an agreement.

The Ho companies have been under increasing pressure with Covid-19 severely affecting the casino industry and Macau pushing to decrease its reliance on the sector amid growing scrutiny from the Chinese government.

The impact has been clear: At SJM Holdings, the main vehicle of the family’s business that controls the largest number of casinos in Macau, annual gaming revenue in the city was down 70 per cent last year from its pre-pandemic level.

Now worth $10.6 billion, the Hos are no longer among the region’s 20 wealthiest clans, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

The move to streamline the business came even before the patriarch’s death. Three years ago, his offspring from the second wife gained control of SJM’s board by forging an alliance with another group of shareholders, with no other children or surviving wives publicly contesting the agreement.

Daisy Ho, a daughter from that union, has been heading SJM since 2018, while her sister Pansy has been the co-chair of MGM China Holdings  for years. Together, they also lead property developer Shun Tak Holdings, and their brother Lawrence is the chairman of Melco International Development.

Sabrina Ho, a daughter from Stanley’s fourth wife, is one of the children who branched out, encouraged by her father. He told her he never placed bets, something that stuck with her and pushed her to look beyond gambling.

“He told me ‘I don’t gamble at all,’ all my life,” Ho said in a WeChat interview. “I decided I will do the same.”

So instead of vying for a role in the family’s gambling empire, the 31-year-old heiress turned to the arts. Her family helped set up Poly Auction Macau, the local unit of China’s Poly Culture Group, which is part of a state-owned conglomerate with $58 billion in annual revenue that deals in everything from art to weapons. Despite having little experience in art beyond a stint as a telephone operator for the parent company in Beijing, Sabrina became Poly Auction Macau’s chief executive officer.

Her siblings are increasingly looking outside for their own path. Mario, Ho’s youngest son, is an executive at a Hong Kong-listed e-sports and gaming company and has stated plans for a platform of family offices in the Greater Bay Area. Josie, a singer and actress, founded her own film company and has toured with her rock band. Laurinda touts her beef noodles franchise on her popular Instagram account. Even Lawrence, Melco’s head, is turning to other investments. His family office, Black Spade Capital, bought a medical imaging firm in the former British colony and launched a special-purpose acquisition company in the US last year.