The father would have seen in her what for several reasons, including age, he did not see in any of the other 13 children: the ability to be his successor. She didn’t even want to, but – as she acknowledged – it’s not easy being Stanley’s daughter.
MB Feb 2020 Special Report | Casino Lisboa – 50 Years
It is not clear today whether Stanley Ho tried to choose a successor while in full possession of all his faculties – in the interview we published with his friend Monjardino, he says no.
Still, there seems to have been a strategic bet in the last 20 years on Pansy Ho – the eldest daughter (57) of their second relationship, with Lucina Laam.
And as far as we know at this point, Pansy is not only SJM’s president for the simple reason that she simultaneously owns (now) 22.4 percent of the company holding the sub concession granted to MGM China Holdings Ltd., where she also plays relevant executive functions.
Pansy was thrown to the top by her father in 2000, when she took a seat in the management of STDM, against the opinion of a well-known shareholder of the STDM universe, her aunt and Stanley’s sister, Winnie Ho.
“In response to internal crises and external threats, Ho named his daughter Pansy as an apparent heiress to inherit the gambling empire, injecting new blood into STDM’s management,” wrote political analyst Sonny Lo, a profound connoisseur of Macau and a regular contributor to our sister publication, Macau News Agency.
Lo says that Pansy’s first contact with her father’s universe of companies came from 1994 when she was called to negotiate the merger between the two jet-foil companies operating between Macau and Hong Kong. “Pansy Ho contributed to the renewal of STDM’s business,” summarizes Sonny Lo, noting that under her management, “the company continued to demonstrate its commitment to the future of Macau,” for example by building the Macau Tower, which began in 1998 and ended in 2001.
“In fact, the space for me to be myself is limited. No matter how hard I worked to succeed, a comment like ‘she’s Stanley’s daughter’ turns all my efforts to no avail,” Pansy told Chinese state agency Ecns.
Her father saw in Pansy the potential to reach the top, first herself.
“It’s really hard to be myself under the influence of such a successful parent. I have to work even harder [than the others]” – Pansy Ho
Until around 2000, Pansy was often described as a socialite, always photographed at parties and targeted by local paparazzi.
But one episode will have decisive consequences in her life: while still formally married to Julian Hui, son of one of Hong Kong’s great maritime entrepreneurs Hui Sai-fun, Pansy started a relationship with Gilbert Yeung, son of one of China’s rivals of Stanley Ho in the entertainment area Albert Yeung (Emperor Group). The two were in business for a casino in Pyongyang.
Gilbert described in the neighboring region’s press as a “bad boy lover” was arrested for drug possession in mid-2000, which occupied the front pages of Hong Kong’s most popular newspapers. Father Stanley disliked it and even threatened to publicly dismantle Pansy if she maintained her relationship with Gilbert.
Pansy took her father’s threats seriously and changed her life.
“It’s really hard to be myself under the influence of such a successful parent. I have to work even harder [than the others],” Pansy confessed.
Shortly after promoting her to STDM’s board of directors, Stanley began negotiations with MGM for the subconcession, giving her daughter additional power, where she remains co-chairman and reference shareholder of MGM China Holdings Ltd.
In 2018, Pansy (through Shun Tak Holdings, where she is Managing Director and group executive chairman) and the Henry Fok Foundation signed an agreement to control 53 percent of STDM, which in turn controls 54.1 percent of SJM Holdings. A deal that reduces the influence of Stanley’s fourth wife, Rep. Angela Leong, STDM’s largest single shareholder, and projects Pansy as the main heiress.
The richest woman
Pansy Ho is Hong Kong’s richest woman since 2011, according to the publication “Tycoons in Hong Kong”
And as while as MGM may be the smallest of the local operators, Pansy’s prestige and wealth are increasing: it ranks 413 on Forbes’ Billionaires 2019 list and is the 20th richest in Hong Kong.
His personal fortune is estimated at US$4.8 billion. By 2018, it was said she have bought the second most expensive property in all of Asia, a mansion in Hong Kong that allegedly cost HK$ 900 million.
In the last months of 2019, Pansy has sold 2.45 million shares of MGM Resorts; Ho’s stake in the casino operator is down to 1.78 percent.
“A hydra-like three-headed co-chairman group”
“Stanley Ho is retiring but leaving more questions than answers behind,” said a memo from JP Morgan Securities (Asia Pacific) Ltd, on the management agreement announced in 2018. “This complicated structure, in our view, leaves room for a potential power tussle within the board, given the lack of clear control (at least it seems so to us).”
Brokerage Sanford C. Bernstein Ltd also commented the news: “Instead of using Stanley Ho’s retirement as an impetus to make governance and management changes, the company has opted to further entrench the status quo,” adding: “a hydra-like three-headed co-chairman group and the elevation of entrenched management is not an indication that any shakeup at the company is forthcoming (as some bulls of the stock have hoped).”
