The New Ho Dynasty
In 2024, Mario Ho became the youngest founder of a Nasdaq-listed Asian company. At a bell-ringing ceremony in New York, he said his esports firm, NIP Group, “is ready to leave a significant mark on the global gaming industry.”
An IPO raised more than $20 million, with proceeds earmarked for strategic acquisitions, marketing and global penetration of NIP esports teams. The company is also developing esports training curricula and even high-tech esports hotels, complete with gaming facilities.
That same year, Ho made headlines again when he bought a piece of the winningest team in NBA history: the Boston Celtics.
The entrepreneur’s aptitude for success is in the bloodline. He is the youngest son of the late Stanley Ho, the legendary king of Macau gambling and founder of SJM Holdings, one of the city’s Big 6 casino concessionaires. In his lifetime the elder Ho, father of 17, amassed a $7 billion fortune from real estate, shipping, entertainment and gaming. He died in 2020 at the age of 98.
Son Mario, a math prodigy from childhood, attended both Oxford and MIT before joining Tencent-backed iDreamsky Technology as chief marketing officer. In 2019, he founded Shenzhen V5 Esports Club, which merged with Wuhan eStar Esports Club to form ESVF. That entity then acquired Swedish esports team Ninjas in Pyjamas to create the NIP Group.
According to Macau Business, NIP has become “a globally influential and appealing digital sports business, providing unique experiences for hundreds of millions of followers and esports enthusiasts.” Its teams and athletes have participated in more than 10 major global title contests and helped to win the first-ever esports gold medal in Asian Games history.
In just a few years, the company has extended its reach to Asia, Europe and South America. In mid-2025, it grew again with the purchase of multiple Bitcoin mining rigs and facilities from companies primarily based in the United States.
Ho’s extended family includes other formidable names, among them Daisy Ho, chair and executive director of Macau casino concessionaire SJM Holdings; Pansy Ho, a major shareholder in both SJM and MGM China; and Lawrence Ho, founder, chair and CEO of another Macau concessionaire, Melco Resorts and Entertainment.
But the young impresario has made clear his intent to build a dynasty of his own in esports, an exploding sector that could grow from $8 billion in 2025 to $48 billion by 2034. Forbes China has called Ho “a determined and bold entrepreneur (whose) story tells us that only through innovation and passion can one be invincible.”
