Stanley Ho: Macau's tragic gambling king

Stanley Ho has held a monopoly on Macau's gambling business for four decades. Now the frail 89-year-old is facing a bitter war between his 16 children over who will control his $3bn empire once he's gone.

After fathering at least 16 surviving children by four "wives", Stanley Ho's estate was always going to be complicated. But few imagined that such a bitter war for control of his vast gambling empire would break out while the frail tycoon was still alive, says The South China Morning Post. The twists and turns of this dynastic soap opera have gripped the residents of Hong Kong and Macau. But it's a nightmare scenario for investors in the "King of Gambling's" listed casino business, SJM Holdings (see below).

Until last week, it was thought that Ho, 89, had split his empire equally between all his children. Then came news of a coup. Five children from his second marriage (Pansy, Daisy, Maisie, Lawrence and Josie) had allied with his third wife to grab 99.98% of Lanceford the holding company that controls most of Ho's $3.1bn fortune effectively disinheriting the rest.

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