Hong Kong — The late casino tycoon Stanley Ho’s family enjoy giving each other really pricey gifts. His son, Mario, reportedly received a S$90 million mansion on his 25th birthday. Laurinda Ho, Mario’s stepsister, recently shared on Instagram that the most expensive item she has ever gifted someone is a 10-carat diamond ring, which she purchased for her mother, Ina Chan. Chan is Ho’s third wife and the couple met when she was hired as a private nurse for Ho’s first wife, Clementina, according to 8days.sg.
Wrote Laurinda: “There was this heart-shaped 10-carat diamond ring that my mum always wore. It was a gift from my dad. Three years ago, she was in the hospital with him. She took off the ring ‘cos she was washing her hands and passed it to our helper. The helper wrapped it up in tissue paper, but accidentally flushed it away when she used the toilet at home.”
She continued: “Mum was really upset because dad [isn’t around] to give her another ring anymore. So I spent three years looking for the same heart-shaped ring, which I gave to her during Mother’s Day this year.”
The socialite ended the post on this light-hearted note: “Dad, 10-carat heart-shaped diamonds are really expensive.”
Hongkong media have reported that the ring is likely to cost more than HK$8 million (S$1.37 million).
Born on November 25, 1921, Stanley Ho Hung-sun was a Hong Kong-Macau billionaire businessman. His original patrilineal surname was Bosman, which was later Sinicized to 何 (Ho). He was of Dutch-Jewish, English and Chinese ancestry. He was the founder and chairman of SJM Holdings, which owns !9 casinos in Macau including the Grand Lisboa.
Ho was nicknamed Godfather and King of Gambling, reflecting the government-granted monopoly he held on the Macau gambling industry for 75 years./TISG