David Ho Ting-kwok (born c.1953) is a

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

based entrepreneur originally from

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

."Billionaire Vancouver businessman David Ho faces criminal charges"
''

Vancouver Sun The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network. Published s ...

'', September 29, 2009. He founded the now defunct

Harmony Airways Harmony Airways was an airline headquartered in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, a suburb of Vancouver. It operated holiday flights from Canada to Mexico, Hawaii and Las Vegas, Nevada. Its main base was Vancouver International Airport.Flight ...

, and owns the

University Golf Club The University Golf Club is a public golf club located in Pacific Spirit Regional Park near the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and the University of British Columbia. It is owned and operated by Musqueam Capital Corporation. The la ...

(course land owned and leased from Musqueam Capital Corporation). He has a minority interest in MCL Motors (founded 1992) since selling it to Dilawri Automotive Group in 2010.Dilawri.ca
Vancouver luxury dealership joins national automotive group
. 2010-06-02. Accessed 2015-03-25. In 2005 he was named the Businessman of the Year by the Vancouver Junior Board of Trade.
, ''

'', June 29, 2005. Ho is a former member of the

Police Board A police board is an appointed form of local government charged with the responsibility of overseeing a local police force. In the United States, the term is used for some police departments. For example, the Chicago Police Board oversees the Chi ...

."Vancouver businessman David Ho charged with unlawful confinement and weapons offences"
''

Georgia Straight ''The Georgia Straight'' is a free Canadian weekly news and entertainment newspaper published in Vancouver, British Columbia, by Overstory Media Group. Often known simply as ''The Straight'', it is delivered to newsboxes, post-secondary schools, ...

'', September 28, 2009. In 2009 Ho was charged with unlawful confinement, cocaine possession and possession of an unregistered firearm in relation to an incident involving a prostitute. On February 2, 2012, he pleaded guilty to a charge of unlawful confinement and was given a one-year suspended sentence, 45 hours of community service and a $5,000 fine.Frances Bula
"Vancouver billionaire pleads guilty to confining prostitute after night of sex"
''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'' 2 February 2012 Ho and his family have been frequent donors to various charities, especially

Orbis International Orbis International is an international non-profit non-governmental organization (NGO) dedicated to saving sight worldwide. Its programs focus on the prevention of blindness and the treatment of blinding eye diseases in developing countries throug ...

. Ho's name was found in the

Panama Papers The Panama Papers ( es, Papeles de Panamá) are 11.5 million leaked documents (or 2.6 terabytes of data) that were published beginning on April 3, 2016. The papers detail financial and attorney–client information for more than 214,488 ...

involving his registration of Harmonyworld Investment Company by Mossack Foncesa.

Background

Ho's grandfather, Ho Ying-chie, owned the Hong Kong Tobacco Co., the eighth-largest tobacco company worldwide.

Sing Tao News Corporation Limited Sing Tao News Corporation Limited (Sing Tao) is a Hong Kong media company, incorporated in Bermuda. It was formerly called Global China Group Holdings Limited. History The Group, which is listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, was founded ...

chairman

Charles Ho Charles Ho Tsu-kwok, Grand Bauhinia Medal, GBM (, born 23 June 1949) is a Hong Kong businessman who was the chairman of the Sing Tao News Corporation Limited between 2001 and 2021 and an independent non-executive director of Shun Tak Holdings. A ...

is his brother. Ho attended

Woodberry Forest School Woodberry Forest School is a private, all-male boarding school located in Woodberry Forest, Madison County, Virginia, in the United States. Woodberry's current enrollment is 405. Students come from 28 U.S. states (plus the District of Columbia ...

in Virginia, and then studied business at the

University of Richmond The University of Richmond (UR or U of R) is a private liberal arts college in Richmond, Virginia. It is a primarily undergraduate, residential institution with approximately 4,350 undergraduate and graduate students in five schools: the School ...

."David Ho: Ultra-secritive, and ultra-rich"
, ''

Maclean's ''Maclean's'', founded in 1905, is a Canadian news magazine reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian perspe ...

'', November 28, 2005. Ho, and his then-wife Rita Fung (sister of

Fairchild Group The Fairchild Group ( zh, t=新時代集團, s=新时代集团, p=Xīnshídài Jítuán, j=San1si4doi6 Zaap6tyun4, first=t) is a Canadian business conglomerate, with headquarters in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Fairchild Group operates ...

CEO

Thomas Fung Thomas Fung Wing-fat (; born ) is a Hong Kong-born Canadian businessman and philanthropist. He is the eldest son of Fung King Hey, the founder of Sun Hung Kai (SHK) Financial in Hong Kong. He is the founder of the Fairchild Group, a media and r ...

and daughter of

Fung King Hey Fung King Hey (1922–1985), was a Hong Kong businessman. He was born in Guangzhou, mainland China. He is the co-founder of Hong Kong-based Sun Hung Kai & Co. and was reputed as "King of securities world" and "Godfather of the stock market". H ...

, co-founder of Sun Hung Kai & Co. of

), arrived in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in 1984 because she had family in the Vancouver area. The couple divorced in 1995. Ho later married Winnie Schweitzer, who along with Ho are directors in

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, V ...

registered Harmonyworld Investments.

References

1953 births Living people Businesspeople from Vancouver Canadian airline chief executives Canadian billionaires Canadian people of Hong Kong descent Canadian philanthropists Canadian real estate businesspeople University of Richmond alumni Woodberry Forest School alumni People named in the Panama Papers {{vancouver-stub

Background

See also

References