The gambling king’s mourning hall cost 2 million flowers and 8 million coffins. He Chaoqiong got 20 billion. Does he care about this little money?
July 10, 2020, the day of Stanley Ho’s funeral.
A memorial service will be held at the Hong Kong Funeral Home on July 9, with a public memorial at 2 p.m. The burial will be held at 1:30 pm on July 10, and the funeral will be held at 2:30 pm.
People who do business are quite superstitious. Both the date and the time are measured by the He family’s exclusive Feng Shui master, who is very particular about it.
Under the leadership of He Chaoqiong, the gambling king family contacted celebrities from all walks of life in Hong Kong and established a funeral committee with hundreds of people. They were full of business tycoons and political dignitaries, and gathered almost all the upper class in Hong Kong. person.
As a gambling king with a net worth of 500 billion, he was a powerful figure in Hong Kong's business world during his lifetime. It is considered very glorious to have such a grand scene after his death.
Decoration work began on Stanley Ho's mourning hall a week ago. Since Stanley Ho's funeral is a "happy mourning", the overall design of the mourning hall will be dominated by bright colors.
The staff successively brought all kinds of fresh green plants and flowers to the scene, and decorated the mourning hall into a "sea of flowers". The photo of the deceased was surrounded by red roses, which was grand yet solemn.
It is said that the plants at the mourning hall alone cost nearly HK$2 million.
Regarding the choice of coffin, Ho Hong-shen of the He family chose a Chinese-style nanmu coffin. This kind of wood is corrosion-resistant, insect-proof, and not easily deformed. It is a common choice for many upper-class funerals.
According to Hong Kong media reports, the price of this coffin is HK$8 million.
Of course, for the gambling king family, these expenses are necessary. Moreover, for a businessman of Stanley Ho's level, the funeral should pay more attention to the pattern.
In addition to the luxury of the funeral scene, what can be more reflected from the side is the people who come to express condolences and support the spirit.
The funerals of Hong Kong's top wealthy families are often not just a matter of their own family, but a matter of knowledge, and can even be said to be a kind of politics.
In Stanley Ho’s funeral committee, former Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa serves as the honorary director of the funeral committee, former Macau Chief Executive Edmund Ho and former Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying serve as honorary deputy directors, and the director of the funeral committee is the current Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam.
In the business world, two of Hong Kong’s top richest men, Li Ka-shing and Lee Shau Kee, also appeared on the list of the funeral committee. In addition, business tycoons such as Kwok Bing-kong, Kwok Bing-lian, Robert Kuok, Ho Chu-kwok, Wu Ying-xiang, and Lam Jianyue were also on the list. List.
Such a high scale can be said to be unprecedented.
You know, when Li Jiaxin's father-in-law Xu Shixun passed away a few years ago, most of the people who came to express condolences were the "second generation". Most of the heads of wealthy families and politicians chose to send wreaths and call. way to express condolences.
From the scale of the funeral, it can be seen which families "take all politics and business" and which families "take the tea away".
Of course, the reason why the Ho family can remain in the upper echelons of Hong Kong is not only the reputation of Stanley Ho during his lifetime, but more importantly, the selection of the right "successor".
After more than a month of "inheritance competition", He Chaoqiong finally won the "battle" with a victorious attitude.
Whether it is from the speech made by the gambling king when he passed away, the establishment of the funeral committee, or the announcement of three obituaries, He Chaoqiong has always played the role of "talker" in the family, and has become the next generation of the He family. The leader of.
As early as the initial distribution of the gambling king's estate, it was enough to predict the outcome of the situation. The second wife Lan Qiongying and her children received about 20 billion. In his later years, the fourth wife Liang Anqi, who was most loved by the gambling king, only received 5.7 billion was allocated, while the unknown third-bedroom Chen Wanzhen received 6.7 billion.
On June 5, Ho Chaoxiong, the youngest daughter of Stanley Ho's first wife, jumped out and made a "note to the public" episode, but in the end it failed to cause any waves.
In order to stabilize her position, the second wife Lan Qiongying desperately wanted to give birth to a son, but she was helpless that her first two children were both daughters. However, she did not limit her vision to traditional thinking. He trained his eldest daughter He Chaoqiong and second daughter He Chaofeng into business wizards.
In his later years, the gambling king really wanted to hand over the family business to his son. Therefore, when Lan Jieying gave birth to He Youlong for the third time, Stanley Ho had been working hard to cultivate his abilities, but after all, he had Not quite as strong as a leader.
Although He Youlong was included in the "successor inspection" in 2001, he was not able to be "regularized" in the end.
Since Stanley Ho was admitted to hospital, Stanley Ho has gradually transferred out his directorship and shares in his name, mostly to his second wife Lan Jieying and her children.
During the ten years when the gambling king was hospitalized, Lan Jieying was also secretly cultivating He Chaoqiong and He Chaofeng. With the knowledge gained from studying abroad in the early years and his innate courage, He Chaoqiong quickly took up the role of Lanceford. The backbone of the company.
In this regard, Stanley Ho has always maintained acquiescence. It can also be seen from the inheritance distribution after his death that Stanley Ho is indeed deliberately leaning his estate into the name of his second wife.
Compared with the long-dead principal wife and the third wife who is unwilling to participate in the dispute, the only opponent that Ho Chaoqiong faced was the fourth wife Anqi Liang. As Stanley Ho's "sustenance" in his later years, Anqi Leung almost always accompanied him. Stanley Ho’s longest-standing relative.
However, because she married into the He family late, her children are too young, so it is difficult for them to take advantage of the inheritance of equity and inheritance.
Liang Anqi was naturally dissatisfied with such an inheritance distribution.
After the death of the gambling king, Liang Anqi secretly arranged for her son He Youjun to join the Aobo Group and placed him in the position of president in an attempt to regain 10%.
In order to prevent "future troubles", He Chaoqiong also responded. The share composition of Aobo Group is very complicated. Although Anqi Liang has a high proportion of "honorary shares", the actual controlling shares only account for 10%. Aobo Group's actual shares The largest shareholder should be the Fok Yingdong family.
After Anqi Liang took the initiative, He Chaoqiong took the initiative to offer an "olive branch" to the Huo family, using the inheritance he inherited as capital to negotiate and achieve an "alliance" occupation. acquired most of Aobo’s shares.
In order not to give Liang Anqi a way out, He Chaoqiong immediately found the Zheng Yutong family. Although the Zheng family held a small share in the company, they had strong economic strength and influence. Even no less than Li Ka-shing.
If it is linked with the shares held by Anqi Liang, it will naturally be bad news for He Chaoqiong.
So after using a "preemptive strike" move, He Chaoqiong took the initiative to win the Zheng family into his camp and completely cut off Liang Anqi's thoughts.
It has to be said that in the battle for the gambling king's inheritance, He Chaoqiong does have his own scheming, and of course, also has the corresponding courage.
According to calculations by the He family’s Feng Shui master, Stanley Ho’s body is not suitable for burial in 2020, and the burial ceremony will have to be held on an auspicious day after 2021.
I wonder if He Chaoqiong can re-establish a gambling empire and become a new generation of gambling king when he is buried?
All answers will be given to time.
Author: Jiang Shangjiu