Billionaire Says Family Members Seized His Stake In Casino Empire

Vanessa Doctor

25 January 2011

Casino tycoon Stanley Ho has accused his family of seizing his stake in Asia's largest casino empire against his wishes raising concern over an impending legal battle, BusinessWeek reports.

The 89-year-old Ho will likely bring the matter into court as he tries to keep control of Sociedade de Turismo e Diversoes de Macau, the report said. In an interview with the Macau billionaire's lawyer, Gordon Oldham from Oldham, Li & Nie, the recent announcement on the transfer of Ho's assets had gone against his wishes to divide them equally among family members.

"What really upsets him is that he’s not even dead yet, but in the twilight of his life his second and third families appear to be squabbling and pinching it for themselves," Oldman was quoted as saying.

Ho had suffered an illness in 2010 which caused him to be in the hospital for seven months. He had begun shifting some of his assets to select individuals and organisations after he was discharged. According to the public relations firm that represented some of the family members, Ho had allowed the transfer of a 31.7 per cent stake in STDM, which, Oldman reportedly said, represented about 80 per cent of the value of Ho's assets.

"Legal action is likely if the dispute is not settled in 48 hours," Oldman added.

Ho has 17 children with four women, with the third wife, Chan Un-chan holding the biggest stake at STDM at 31.7 per cent. According to the latest Forbes magazine roster of Asia's richest individuals, he is Hong Kong's richest man with a net worth of $3.1 billion.