"You can't earn money for a gambling king's coffin if you work all your life. Although this sentence is an understatement, it vividly outlines the whole picture of the lavish funeral of gambling king Stanley Ho.
On May 26, 2020, Stanley Ho passed away at the age of 98. On July 8 of the same year, his farewell ceremony was held in Hong Kong funeral home.
The three-day ceremony attracted many political and business celebrities, including Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, Hong Kong Chief Executive He Houhua, and Chief Executive Cheng Yuet-ngor, all of whom were present to see off the gambling king.
Not only that, business leaders such as Li Ka-shing and Xiang Huaqiang, as well as superstars in the entertainment industry such as Jackie Chan, Xie Xian, Lin Qingxia, etc., also appeared to mourn this legendary figure.
The extravagance of the funeral was staggering, with flowers alone costing 2.5 million Hong Kong dollars, and all of them were flown in from abroad.
In the mourning hall, Stanley Ho's ** was quietly placed, and the three large red garlands in front of him were particularly conspicuous, which was the intention of his three wives, entrusting them with their deep attachment to the gambling king.
It is surrounded by white wreaths of flowers laid by children and grandchildren, each of which carries thoughts and memories of their father.
The coffin is even more extraordinary, handmade of golden silk nanmu, and the cost is as high as 8 million. In ancient times, this wood was only enjoyed by the royal family, and its weight reached several hundred catties, and it took more than a dozen strong men to lift it.
It is worth mentioning that Stanley Ho's burial was postponed for a year. In traditional Chinese culture, the greatest respect for the deceased is to be buried in the earth.
However, regarding the auspicious day of burial, the Ho family followed the advice of the feng shui master Cai Boli.
A well-known feng shui master in Hong Kong, he was awarded the Gold Bauhinia Medal, which is only awarded to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to society, demonstrating his authoritative position in the field of feng shui.
In Hong Kong, no matter how prominent he is, he has to wait in line to be hired.
As early as 2009, 88-year-old Stanley Ho was hospitalized in a coma due to illness and was dying. In order to save her father, He Chaoyun, the daughter of the third wife, carried her father's underwear and turned to the famous Thai feng shui master White Dragon King for help.
Under the protection of the White Dragon King, Stanley Ho miraculously woke up. Since then, the Ho family has believed in Feng Shui.
In recent years, the He family will follow Cai Xinghua's advice when handling red and white ceremonies.
Cai Xinghua is the daughter of Cai Boli, a master in the feng shui world, and inherited all the mantles of his father. On the issue of selecting the auspicious day for Stanley Ho's burial, Cai Xinghua took great pains to synthesize the eight characters of the birthdays of dozens of people in the He family and compared them with the eight characters of the gambling king.
It turned out that there was not a single day suitable for burial in 2020. It was not until May 30, 2021 that the gambling king was able to rest in peace.
During Stanley Ho's illness, the family invested huge sums of money in his treatment.
After becoming critically ill in 2009, the family converted the mansion into a private hospital, introduced the world's top medical equipment, and hired dozens of medical staff to take care of them around the clock.
There is a drug called cerebral tonic hormone, which is said to promote brain cell regeneration and stay awake, but it is expensive, more than 800,000 yuan for a single injection, and it needs to be injected daily. In this way, the gambling king accepted the ** for 11 years.
It is said that in the past 11 years, all his ** expenses have added up to more than 1.5 billion yuan. For us ordinary people, this is simply an astronomical amount, but for the gambling king family, this is only the tip of the iceberg of their property.
Despite the lavish and lavish expense of the funeral, Stanley Ho's life story and contributions to the country are more memorable.
Born into a famous family in Hong Kong, he was born in a middle-of-the-art family when he was young, but he changed his fate with his perseverance and wisdom.
At the age of 20, he joined the shipping industry with only 10 yuan and amassed a million-dollar fortune in less than two years. Since then, he has founded his own company, and after more than ten years of development, he has accumulated strong capital.
In 1961, he cooperated with Fok Yingdong and others to obtain the exclusive right to operate a casino in Macau, and began a 40-year monopoly career, so he was known as the "gambling king".
However, Stanley Ho is not only a super-rich man with 500 billion assets, but also a patriot.
In 1998, in order to prepare for the construction of the Macao Hall of the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Stanley Ho did not hesitate to donate a huge amount of money. In 1999, he donated $3 million to support Beijing's new construction of the China Millennium Monument as a way to express his blessings for the new century.
In 2001, when he learned that Beijing's bid for the 2008 Olympic Games was successful, he donated 100 million yuan to the construction of the Water Cube of the Olympic Pavilion.
In September 2003, Stanley Ho spent more than 600 yuan to buy back the bronze statues of animal heads and pig heads that had been lost in the Old Summer Palace, and then transferred them to the Poly Art Museum for collection.
In remembering this legendary figure, we should not only focus on his luxury, but also remember his wisdom and patriotism.
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