那么，谁是何鸿燊？您可能没有听说过他，如果你没有花多少时间在东南亚，但如果你曾经去过香港或澳门，有机会，你就会知道这个名字。何鸿淼是世界上最富有的人之一（最新估计，他的商业帝国价值8亿美元左右）。

　　最近，本月初他再次成为新闻焦点，他的澳门博彩股份有限公司的旗舰的公司新成立。何鸿燊最近上市的他的赌博帝国，以更好地抵抗拉斯维加斯赌城带来的越来越大的威胁。澳门是前葡萄牙殖民地的殖民地，只需要一个小时的飞机路程，就可以到达珠江三角洲的其他大都市：香港。

　　何鸿燊在香港、澳门和东南亚等地都是公认的财富大亨，他被称为“赌博国王”或“澳门赌博王子”，因为他在澳门垄断赌博行业长达六十年。

　　何鸿燊的赌博业务占澳门本地生产总值的1 / 3左右。这就是他为什么被称为“澳门赌博王子”的原因。

　　他所缴的税占澳门政府税收财政收入的30％；他的公司雇用员工超过10,000万人，他是澳门特别行政区最大的雇佣者。

　　何鸿燊出生在香港，是何东家族的成员，有一个最强大的家庭背景。他是混合血统，他的曾祖父是荷兰犹太人，他的妻子是广东人。他的家庭很富裕，但当他的父亲在股市上暴跌，失去了大部分财富，他的父亲后来放弃了家庭，离开何鸿燊以及他的姐姐和他的母亲。

　　何鸿燊是一个勤奋的人，在香港大学学习期间多次获得学校奖学金。他学会了英语，日语，葡萄牙语，而且他在大学期间掌握的语言技能，有利于他在未来几年的发展。

　　何鸿燊开始是在一个日本独资的贸易公司工作，因为他有4种语言的知识，所以他在事业上迅速上升。他给他的雇主留下了很多深刻印象，他的雇主给了他一百万的奖金，那是他在那段时间里赚的最大的一笔钱。

　　何鸿燊用那笔奖金在香港投资，并从房地产投资中赚了大钱。然后他开始迎来他在赌博行业上的大突破。何鸿燊从葡萄牙政府赢得澳门赌博牌照的竞标。何鸿淼和他的合作伙伴提出了一个积极的计划，以促进澳门的旅游行业，还建立了跨珠江三角洲的香港和澳门之间的交通。

　　投资了40万美元左右，他们赢得了竞标。现在他的赌博帝国已经十分强大。

　　何鸿燊所拥有的著名的葡京赌场酒店已经成为澳门和世界著名的地标。何鸿燊还拥有其他公司，如信德集团有限公司，该公司拥有大型的高速的船队，以方便他在香港，澳门等地的客户。

　　葡萄牙同意在1999年澳门回归中国，何鸿淼密切参与并促成了这一件伟大的事。何鸿燊现在控制了澳门赛马会，杜嘉豪港口和油码头。

　　在90年代中期，何鸿燊和合作伙伴把他们的注意力放在发展澳门的国际机场事业。何鸿燊现在还拥有澳门航空股份的14％，此外，何鸿燊在澳门世界贸易中心，网络电视，高尔夫球场，道路，桥梁和电力公司等都有股份。你可以看到他的手上有许多财富，。

　　和分享关于他的最后一件琐事，你知道李小龙和何鸿燊是堂兄弟吗？李小龙的妈妈是何鸿燊的祖父何福的弟弟的女儿。

　　译文：

　　Gambling Legends: Stanley Ho

　　So who is Stanley Ho? You might not have heard of him if you haven?t spent much time in south-east Asia, but if you have ever been to Hong Kong or Macau, chances are that you?ll know the name. Ho is one of the world?s richest men （latest estimates put his business empire at a figure of around $8 billion）。

　　He has recently hit the news again this month following the IPO of his Macau gambling flagship company Sociedade de Jogos de Macau. Despite a late spanner thrown into the works from estranged sister Winnie, Ho has recently listed his gambling empire to better take on the growing threat from the new kids on the block from Las vegas, which are turning up the heat in the former Portuguese colony of Macau, which is an hour?s jet-foil ride away from that other metropolis across the Pearl river delta: Hong Kong.

　　Stanley Ho is a “Tai-Pan” who has made his fortune in Hong Kong, Macau and South-East Asia. Known as “The King of Gambling” or “The Macau Gambling Prince”， thanks to the gambling monopoly he secured from the Portuguese during the heady days of the sixties. He certainly knows his sic bo from his craps.

　　Ho?s businesses account for around 1/3 of the GDP of Macau. You can see why he is called “Mr Macau”。

　　His taxes account for about 30% of the Macau government’s take; and his companies employ more than 10,000 people- comfortably the largest empolyer in the SAR （Special Administrative Region of China）。

　　Stanley Ho was born in Hong Kong, a member of the Ho Tung family, one of the most powerful family units of the times. He is of mixed descent- his great-grandfather was Dutch-Jewish, whose wife was Cantonese. His family was very wealthy, but went from riches to rags when his father lost a fortune in the stock market crash: his father later abandoned the family, leaving Stanley Ho with 2 elder sisters and his mother.

　　Ho was a hard worker, and despite a below par performance at school grafted hard and earned a scholarship to the University of Hong Kong. He learnt English, Japanese and Portuguese while at university- linguistic skills that were to stand him in good stead in the coming years.

　　Ho began work as a cleric at a Japanese-owned trading firm in Macau. Thanks to his knowledge of 4 languages, he rose quickly through the ranks and became at partner at the tender age of 22. He impressed his employers so much that he was given one million as a bonus- an unthinkably large sum in those days.

　　Ho used the bonus to invest in Hong Kong and made some big money from real estate. Then came his big break. Ho bid for Macau gambling licences from the Portuguese government. Ho and his partners bid high and had an aggressive plan to promote Macua on the tourist map and to set up transportation across the Pearl River Delta between Hong Kong and Macau.

　　They won the contest by paying around $400,000. Looking at his empire now, that yielded a result with some return on investment!

　　And so the famous Lisboa Casino hotel was born- it became the landmark in Macau and world famous. Ho?s other company Shun Tak Holdings Ltd, owns a large fleet of high-speed jetfoils, the transportation for his customers between Hong Kong and Macau and a key part of Ho?s strategy.

　　When Portugal agreed to return Macau to China in 1999. Ho was closely involved in brokering the deal. Ho now controls the Macau Jockey Club, the Ka-Ho Port and an oil terminal.

　　In the mid nineties, Ho and partners turned their attention to developing Macau?s $1.1 Billion international airport. Ho also owns 14% of the shares of Air Macau, not to mention interests in the Macau World Trade Center, , television network, golf courses, roads, bridges and electricity company. He has his fingers in many pies, as you can see.

　　We shall see where this latest page in the fasinating story of Ho?s life takes him. Will the IPO work out? Will he be able to claw back share from the Las Vegas upstarts? With his contacts, you wouldn?t bet against him.

　　And one last piece of trivia for you. Did you know Bruce Lee and Stanley Ho are cousins? Bruce Lee’s mum is the daughter of the brother of Ho Fook, Stanley’s grandfather.