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Melco Resorts Founder Lawrence Ho Loses Spot on Forbes Hong Kong Rich List

Melco Resorts founder, chairman, and CEO Thomas Edward Lawrence Ho has lost his blob on Forbes’ list of the 50 richest people inwards Hong Kong.

Forbes this calendar week unveiled its Hong Kong 50 Richest list, and for the number one clip in a decade, Ho is non among the wealthiest people calling the Chinese Special Administrative Region (SAR) home. With an estimated lot of around $1 billion, Ho’s financial posture did not rank him inward the whirligig 50.

Ho’s net worth estimated by Forbes declined past near $400 1000000 o'er the past tense yr from $1.4 1000000000000 to $1 billion. The 50th posture on the 2024 Hong Kong Richest name was fashion magnate Kenneth Lo with a fate of $1.1 billion.

Ho’s wealth is tied upwards considerably in Melco, a Hong Kong-based companion that operates gambling casino resorts in Macau, the Philippines, and Cyprus. The steadfast is most uncovered inward Macau where it owns and operates deuce integrated resort hotel properties — City of Dreams and Studio City.

Melco Downfall

Publicly traded on the Nasdaq, Melco’s shares are down pat(p) nearly 34% over the yesteryear year. The shares lost 2% during Thursday trading to fill up at $8.18.

Melco is trying to hold its Macau casinos bustling after junket groups — the travelling organizers that had brought VIP heights rollers to the enclave for o'er a decennium — were forced come out past Beijing. mainland China President Xi Jinping told the Macau regime to donjon closer tabs on the junkets, which led to the criminal prosecution and conviction of former Suncity Group boss Alvin Chau. Junkets later departed the market.

Melco is trying to wee-wee its Macau properties more appealing to a wider demographic. The companionship lastly yr added a straggling indoor H2O green at Studio City to wee-wee the destination more family-friendly.

Macau’s VI casino concessions won $22.7 one million million on their gaming floors last-place year. Though that constituted a 334% surge on 2022 gambling casino win, it represents just now 63% of the amount the gaming operators won away gamblers in pre-pandemic 2019.

Ho is the boy of the late Henry M. Stanley Ho, the so-called “King of Gambling” who held a monopoly on casinos inwards Macau until the play of the century when the enclave was handed to mainland China from Portugal.

Stanley Ho had at to the lowest degree 17 children with multiple wives. Ho lived a polygamist lifestyle, as polygamy was legal inward Hong Kong until the betimes 1970s.

One of his widows is Angela Leong. She ranked No. 33 on the 2024 Hong Kong Richest listing with a sack worth of $2.4 billion.

Leong inherited practically of her later(a) husband’s empire, including SJM Resorts, the Hong Kong-headquartered gambling casino companionship that is ane of the sixer Macau cassino operators.

Lawrence Ho’s eldest half-sister, Pansy Ho, ranked No. 22 with a $3.7 one thousand million fortune. Ms. Ho inherited her father’s Shun Tak Holdings existent land conglomerate. She’s also a major investor in MGM China, ane of the six Macau casino giants.

Casino Tycoons

Along with Pansy Ho and Angela Leong, the Hong Kong Richest name includes Dr. Lui Che Woo, whose $12.1 one million million circumstances stems mostly from Galaxy Entertainment. Galaxy is also headquartered inward Hong Kong and is unity of the half-dozen Macau cassino licensees.

Lui’s sack up worth dropped from nearly $15 1000000000000 last-place year. Pansy Ho’s luck was also trimmed from $3.8 billion. Leong’s wealthiness declined from $2.7 billion.

The losses fall out the bench mark Hang Seng index, the stockpile marketplace of Hong Kong. Over the past times year, the indicant is cut down almost 18%.

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