written and last updated by
Sam Smith at
27 May 2020
Journalist, Editorial Department
Stanley Ho, the founder of the gambling industry in Macau and head of SJM Holdings, has passed away at the age of 98, as reported by the South China Morning Post. He died in a hospital in Hong Kong.
Stanley Ho is credited with transforming Macau into a global gambling capital. He entered the gaming business in the 1960s and held exclusive rights to operate casinos in Macau until 1999. Throughout his career, he faced numerous allegations of involvement in money laundering schemes and connections to organized crime. While Ho did not deny these accusations, he claimed that similar allegations could be leveled against any casino owner during the 1980s and 1990s.
As of 2020, SJM Holdings remains the largest gaming company in Asia, operating 20 casinos in Macau alone. Thanks in large part to Ho's efforts, Macau's gaming sector surpassed Las Vegas in financial performance in the mid-2000s. Ho, whose net worth was estimated at $6 billion, served as the head of SJM Holdings until 2018, when he stepped down just before his 97th birthday.
