Model Behaviour

Social media star and businesswoman Laurinda Ho, the daughter of casino mogul Stanley Ho, is no stranger to the spotlight, and the model of millennial multitasking is determined to focus it on causes close to her heart

- Rosana Lai

There’s an air of quiet circumspection around Laurinda Ho, the invisible shield of someone used to being watched. And who could blame her? One of the 17 children of Stanley Ho, his youngest daughter with third wife Ina Chan, Laurinda has spent most of her life witnessing the faces of various family members splattered across the tabloids. Her father, after all, is the “king of gambling” and is one of the richest men in the world.

“I actually didn’t know I was famous,” she says. “I grew up thinking our family was like any other until I was around eight years old when I went to a ballet performance with my mother and saw the entrance surrounded by paparazzi taking our photos. That’s when I got an inkling that we might be different.”

Today, with a bachelor’s degree in economics under her belt, a certificate from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and a master’s in professional accountancy well under way at the University of London, and with stints working at Ernst & Young in London and on projects in the family’s hospitality business, she exudes the calm air of a seasoned professional capable of holding her own. Though soft-spoken in front of strangers, she’s not afraid to make her opinion known, something she feels women should do more often.

“I love and look up to [English actress and activist] Emma Watson because she’s around my age and she’s a strong feminist who gives women a voice and sticks by her values,” says Laurinda, who is an executive director of the Australian subsidiary of Hong Kong’s UNIR Group, UNIR Management, which manages an investment portfolio of hospitality, realty, leisure, retail and transport businesses. “I think it’s important, especially for girls, to not just blindly follow what others say, or believe what others believe.”