Who was Stanley Ho?

Macau’s casino tycoon Stanley Ho died in his sleep, on May 26, at the age of 98.

Considered the father of modern gambling, Ho ran pretty much everything in Macau with businesses from department stores to hotels to ferries and helicopters.

The man started out as a kerosene trader, and ended up as Macau's richest person.

Ho was born on Nov. 25, 1921, into the Hotung family, one of Hong Kong's wealthiest and most powerful families.

The tycoon’s studies at Hong Kong University were interrupted by World War II, during which time he worked as a telephone operator for British forces and when the city fell to the Japanese, ran to Macau as a refugee.

Working his way up, Ho secured a four-decade monopoly on casinos in Macau. He only conceded when Portugal transferred control of its colony Macau to China in 1999 which then brought in foreign rivals including Las Vegas Sands Corp., Wynn Resorts Ltd. and MGM Resorts International.