Miriam Adelson and family are again the highest-placed among the world’s wealthy from the casinos and gaming sector, up 15 places year-on-year, according to the latest Forbes World’s Billionaires List. Lawrence Ho Yau Lung, chairman and chief executive of Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd, is back on the list in 2023, having dropped off last year.
Mrs Adelson – widow of Las Vegas Sands Corp founder Sheldon Adelson – is, in concert with family interests, at number 35 of the overall list, with US$35 billion, up from US$27.5 billion last year.
Mr Ho, who has interests in casinos in Macau, the Philippines and Cyprus, is back on the list at spot 2,259, with US$1.2 billion.
Forbes counted 2,640 fortunes encompassing at least 10 figures, down from 2,668 last year.
Lui Che Woo, founding chairman of Macau casino operator Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd, was the second-ranked among casino interests, in 128th place, at US$13.9 billion. It was a rise from number 166 last year, when his wealth was estimated at US$11.6 billion.
Ports and casino entrepreneur Enrique Razon – chairman of Bloomberry Resorts Corp, promoter of the Solaire Resort and Casino in the Philippine capital, Manila – saw his wealth go up for the third year in a row. The second-wealthiest Filipino on the Forbes list, Mr Razon is number 312 globally, with US$7.3 billion. Last year he was at 369 with US$6.7 billion.
Johann Graf, the founder of Austrian gaming equipment maker Novomatic AG, the majority owner of Australia’s Ainsworth Game Technology Ltd, is at number 325 globally this time, with US$7.1 billion, up from last year.
Pansy Ho Chiu King, co-chairperson of Macau casino operator MGM China Holdings Ltd, majority-owned by MGM Resorts International, is at number 787 for 2023, with US$3.6 billion. Last year she was at 951, with US$3.2 billion.
Steve Wynn down, gain for NagaCorp founder
Steve Wynn, who was founding chairman of Wynn Resorts Ltd, parent of Macau casino operator Wynn Macau Ltd, is placed 905 this year, with US$3.2 billion, up from 913, despite his wealth having declined by US$0.1 billion from 2022.
His former wife and co-founder of the group, Elaine Wynn, saw her wealth rise to US$2.1 billion, from US$1.8 billion last year. She is at number 1,434, up from 1,645 in 2022.
Number 1,067 on the Forbes list is Chen Lip Keong, founder of NagaCorp Ltd, the owner of the NagaWorld casino complex in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh. His worth went up, to US$2.8 billion, from last year’s US$2.6 billion, when he was number 1,196.
Philippine entrepreneur Henry Sy Jr is down to number 1,217, with US$2.5 billion, compared to number 1,096 and US$2.8 billion in 2022. Mr Sy is linked to family-founded conglomerate SM Investments Ltd, the parent of Belle Corp, an investor in the City of Dreams Manila casino resort in the Philippines that is run by a unit of Melco Resorts.
Mr Sy’s compatriot Andrew Tan is tied at 1,217, with US$2.5 billion, also down from equal 1,096 last year. Mr Tan is linked to Philippine conglomerate Alliance Global Group Inc. It is an investor in Manila casino complex Newport World Resorts. The latter took that branding last year. It was formerly known as Resorts World Manila, when the now-defunct cruise line operator Genting Hong Kong Ltd had been declared as an investor.
Lim Kok Thay, from the family that founded the Malaysia-listed casinos and plantations conglomerate Genting Bhd, has seen his wealth recover to US$2.3 billion this time, compared to US$2.0 billion last year. He is now at number 1,312 on the Forbes list. The group has interests in Malaysia’s only licensed casino, as well as Resorts World Sentosa, part of Singapore’s casino duopoly, and venues in the United States and the United Kingdom.
Casino equipment entrepreneur Kazuo Okada from Japan saw his ranking drop to 2,133 this year, with US$1.3 billion, compared to number 1,818 and US$1.6 billion last year.
During 2022, individuals representing Mr Okada staged a physical takeover of the Okada Manila casino resort in the Philippine capital, as part of a long-running dispute between Mr Okada and Japan’s Universal Entertainment Corp, which he founded.
The resort was later returned to the control of Universal Entertainment, but legal moves about the matter were lodged in the Philippines.
