A renowned casino tycoon in Hong Kong and one of the city's richest individuals has recently passed away.
Hong Kong billionaire Lui Che-woo died peacefully last Thursday at the age of 95, according to a local exchange filing by Galaxy Entertainment Group.
«[Lui's] vision, tremendous leadership and guidance were the foundations for the Group’s development and continued success,» the filing said. «The board would like to express its deepest sorrow for the passing away of Dr. Lui and extends its deepest condolences to his family.»
Lui is survived by his wife and five children.
Peanuts to Casinos
Born in 1929 in the southern province of Guangdong in mainland China, Lui moved to Hong Kong with his family at the age of four. He dropped out of school during the Japanese occupation of the city and had to become his family's breadwinner by 13. He was a successful entrepreneur early on, having tried his hand at peanut sales and auto parts trading.
In 1955, he founded one of his first flagship companies, K. Wah Group, a multinational conglomerate focused on construction materials and quarry mining alongside property development. In the 2000s, he founded Galaxy Entertainment Group, which was one of the three original concessionaires to gaming operations in Macau when it opened up its market in 2002. Today, the group owns six casinos in Macau.
According to Forbes, Lui was the seventh wealthiest individual in its 2024 Hong Kong rich list with a net worth of $12.1 billion.
