Business tycoon Charles Ho passes away at 75

Charles Ho Tsu-kwok, a renowned Hong Kong businessman and a former committee member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, passed away Wednesday afternoon at the age of 75.

It is suspected that his sudden death may have been caused by Covid.

Born in 1949 into the illustrious Ho family, Charles was the grandson of Hong Kong Tobacco Company founder Ho Ying-chie. After receiving his early education at Diocesan Boys' School, he pursued higher studies in the United States before returning to Hong Kong in the 1990s to assume leadership of the family's business empire.

Ho served as chairman of Sing Tao News Corporation for decades before divesting his holdings in 2021. His distinguished career included political service as a CPPCC member beginning in 1998, eventually rising to standing committee member—a position he held until his retirement in early 2023.

The magnate had publicly disclosed in a February radio interview that he had been diagnosed with lung cancer several months earlier but had completed radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatments in Hong Kong.