Casino heiress Pansy Ho: from Hong Kong showbiz socialite to billionaire businesswoman

Pansy, 62, is the eldest daughter of the late casino magnate and his second wife, Lucina Laam King-ying, and the executive chairwoman of his Shun Tak Holdings, a property developer that operates the Hong Kong-Macau ferry service and operates hotels.

She is also a major shareholder in multiple businesses, including her father’s Macau casino operator SJM and MGM China, a prominent developer, owner, and operator of gaming and lodging resorts in the Greater China region. She ranked 22nd in Forbes’ Hong Kong rich list this year.

Pansy Ho, co-chairperson and executive director of MGM China Holdings Limited, speaks at a press conference during the opening of the MGM Cotai casino resort in Macau on February 13, 2018. Photo by AFP

But Pansy’s current image as a billionaire businesswoman stands in stark contrast to her past as a party-going socialite in the 1990s who briefly ventured into the entertainment industry when she was just 19 years old, according to the South China Morning Post.

She was introduced to the Hong Kong show business in 1981 by late singer Danny Chan, whom Pansy reportedly met in the city’s Lan Kwai Fong party district. That same year, she made a cameo appearance in the TVB drama called "Breakthrough," where Chan played the lead.

Throughout the 1980s, she became friends with some of Hong Kong’s biggest stars, including Chan, Anita Mui, Leslie Cheung, and Cherie Chung. Her relationship with Chan, in particular, attracted attention, with them frequently spotted together by paparazzi at events throughout the decade.

Though she had an interest in art and culture, she chose not to pursue her acting career and, instead, got a bachelor’s degree in marketing and business from Santa Clara University in California, a path she said her father urged her into. She entered the commercial world, founding Occasions, one of Hong Kong’s leading brand consultancy firms, in 1987.

In the 1990s, she married Julian Hui, son of the late real estate magnate Sai Fun Hui, but later began dating Gilbert Yeung, the hard-partying son of one of her father’s business partners. Her relationship with Gilbert ended in 2000 when her father publicly warned she would lose her inheritance if she married him. Pansy announced her intention to divorce Hui in the same year and their divorce was soon finalized.

Pansy has maintained a low profile over the years, with most news highlighting her professional achievements and the various roles she has assumed, including her position as chair of the Hong Kong Federation of Women.

In addition to her role at Shun Tak, she has held directorships in several privately owned companies, including Grand Paradise Macau, Grand Paradise Grupo S.A., New Corporate Enterprises, Bright Elite Holdings, and Grand Paradise Group (HK), according to Tatler Asia.

Since June 2005, she has held the position of managing director at MGM Grand Paradise, one of the six entities granted gaming concessions or subconcessions to operate casinos in Macau.

She launched the MGM Macau casino resort, her joint venture with MGM Resorts International, in 2007. Shun Tak also partnered with China Eastern Airlines and Qantas Airways to invest in a budget airline called Jetstar Hong Kong.

Pansy and the Henry Fok Foundation formed an alliance, granting her increased control over the appointment of SJM's management team, as reported by Financial Times.

Her current career is a far cry from the Pansy of the 1990s, who was often spotted on beaches in Thailand, frequently accompanied by her rebellious lover Gilbert, or captured by paparazzi at nightclubs in Hong Kong.

In a 2015 interview with Tattler Asia, she mentioned that while she is sometimes referred to as her father’s successor, other family members also play key roles in the company.

When asked to reflect on her life, she noted that it had never been dull and expressed gratitude for having lived through the most dynamic and exciting era in the history of Hong Kong, Macau, and China.

"This has given me unprecedented opportunities to chart my own opportunities and build my own dreams."