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A Quick (& Juicy) Guide To Late Casino King Stanley Ho, His 4 Wives, And Their 16 (No, Not 17) Kids

His love life was like a soap opera.

His love life was like a soap opera.

His love life was like a soap opera.

Macau casino tycoon Stanley Ho, who passed away on Tuesday (May 26) at the age of 98, was known for many things, including the fact that he had 16 children with four women, all of whom he called his wives (even though he was only legally married to two of them).

His first wife, Clementina Leitão, was known as “the most beautiful woman in Macau” and came from a prestigious family of Portuguese barristers and officials. Stanley was head over heels in love with Clementina and pursued her passionately, meeting her after work every day and even taking Portuguese language classes at night for her.

1 of 7 Stanley and his first wife Clementina (Photo: Apple Daily)

The couple tied the knot in 1942 and had four children together. Sadly, their son Robert was killed in a traffic accident at the age of 33. Their daughter Jane also passed away in 2014 at the age of 67 after suffering from a rare blood vessel disease. Younger daughters Angela and Deborah are still alive and were recently in a high-profile rift over family trusts.

Clementina herself was in two car crashes in 1952 and 1973, the second of which left her wheelchair-bound and requiring 24-hour care. She died in 2004 at the age of 80.

2 of 7 Stanley and his second wife Lucina Laam (Photo: Apple Daily)

Stanley reportedly met Lucina Laam at a ball when she was just 14 years old. He took her as his second wife in 1957 while still being married to Clementina, a practice made possible under a Qing dynasty law that allowed polygamy in Hongkong until it was outlawed in 1971. However, Deborah claimed that her mother became a heavy drinker and smoker after Lucina came into the picture, which suggests that she wasn’t exactly pleased with the arrangement.

For many years, Lucina accompanied Stanley to social gatherings and charity events, and they became known as the “Dancing Queen” and “Dancing King”. The couple had five children together: Pansy, Daisy, Maisy, and Lawrence, who took over their dad’s businesses, and Josie, a singer and actress.

In 1985, Lucina, now in her 70s, immigrated to Canada to take care of her elderly father and manage Stanley’s businesses over there.

3 of 7 Stanley and his third “wife” Ina Chan (Photo: Apple Daily)

Ina Chan was hired as a private nurse to take care of Clementina in the ‘70s. It was once rumoured that Clementina was the one who played matchmaker for Ina and Stanley to help expand the Ho clan and, um, to teach Lucina a lesson (which sounds too dramatic to be true, but with these real-life Crazy Rich Asians, who knows?).

Ina became Stanley’s third “wife” in 1985 and she bore him three children, Florinda, Laurinda, and Orlando. The 67-year-old is now a successful businesswoman in her own right, serving as the chairwoman of a company that manages real estate, retail, hospitality, leisure, and transportation investment projects.

4 of 7 Stanley and his fourth “wife” Angela Leong (Photo: Apple Daily)

The year after Stanley made Ina his “wife”, he met Angela Leong, then a dance instructor, at a private ball, where he was the guest of honour. They started living together in 1989, but it wasn’t until 1998 when he publicly acknowledged their relationship. By then, they already had three kids together, Sabrina, Arnaldo, and Mario. However, when Sabrina was born in 1990, Stanley had said, “All the mothers of my children are my wives.”

The youngest of all of Stanley’s children, daughter Alice, was born to him and Angela in 1999. The couple was previously thought to have a fifth child, a son named Ho Yau Kai, but Sabrina has revealed that he never existed and clarified that the pictures of him circulating online are actually of Ina's son Orlando as a child.

The absence of a “Ho Yau Kai” in Stanley’s obituary seems to confirm this, which means that he actually fathered 16 kids, not 17 as widely reported.

It’s very confusing, we know.

5 of 7 A throwback photo of Stanley, Ina, and their kids
6 of 7 Stanley, Angela and their four — not five — kids
7 of 7 By the way, this is what Stanley looked like when he was young

Photos: Apple Daily, Laurinda Ho/Instagram, Sabrina Ho/Weibo

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