A Hong Kong court has been asked to name the administrators of late gaming tycoon Stanley Ho Hung-sun’s vast and complex multibillion-dollar estate after his surviving children and grandchildren failed to reach an agreement.

Ho, who was counted as one of Asia’s richest men while he ran the continent’s largest casino empire for half a century, died without leaving a will on May 26 last year at the age of 98, survived by three of his four wives and 15 of his 17 children.

But the exact size of his estate remains unclear, with estimates ranging from “at least HK$1.72 billion (US$220.6 million)” as put forward by his fifth child Pansy Ho Chiu-king, to HK$11 billion according to his eldest surviving child Angela Ho Chiu-yin, and HK$50 billion at the time of his retirement in 2018.

Stanley Ho was considered one of Asia’s richest men.

On Tuesday, the High Court heard that Ho’s surviving children and grandchildren were divided between two proposals on the appointment of the administrators, who are expected to ascertain the size of the estate, as well as the rights and liabilities involved, among other tasks.

One proposal was to appoint KPMG’s global head of restructuring Patrick Cowley and partner Rosalie Lui Yee-man. This was agreed on by the second, third and fourth branches of the family, with three members of the first family having no objections.

The alternative, which was tabled by Angela and supported by her niece Ringo Siu – both from the first family – was to further engage Tiffany Wong Wing-sze and Edward Simon Middleton, both managing directors of consulting firm Alvarez & Marsal Asia. Siu is the daughter of Angela’s late elder sister, Jane Francis Ho.

Paul Shieh Wing-tai SC, representing Pansy – the eldest child of Ho’s second wife – said it had not been easy for her to coordinate efforts for all family members to agree on a proposal and reach a consensus on the appropriate candidates.

The first family, Shieh said, had been “given every opportunity to participate” and they did, with Deborah Ho and her two nieces, Faye Ho and Sarah Ho – children of the late Robert Ho Yau-kwong – indicating they “do not disagree” with the KPMG appointment.

“The majority has spoken,” Shieh told the court, adding that his client had “tried very hard” to involve her sister, before finding out through the press that Angela had initiated proceedings in the High Court to nominate Alvarez & Marsal in September last year.

Angela Ho is the eldest surviving child of gaming tycoon Stanley Ho.

There was no question about KPMG’s independence and competence, Shieh said, given its ample experience in dealing with real property. He added it would be inefficient to appoint two firms simply because one camp felt it needed representation.

“KPMG is a household name,” Shieh continued. “One can’t suggest KPMG would do the dirty bidding of any party.”

Douglas Lam Tak-yip SC, acting for Angela and Siu, countered that they had been “left out in the cold” and only learned about the KPMG pick after the majority had already made up their minds.

Pansy Ho, daughter of Stanley Ho and managing director of Shun Tak Holdings Limited.

Lam said Angela was nonetheless willing to compromise, as seen from her withdrawal of the September legal action and proposal to appoint Alvarez & Marsal as joint administrators. The move was not opposed by Faye and Sarah.

The law allowed up to four administrators and Alvarez & Marsal could complement KPMG’s strengths by bringing in their “important and useful advantage” in hospitality management at cheaper hourly rates, Lam said, thereby enabling the family to cut costs as the administration of the estate was expected to “[run] into millions of dollars”.

Lam stressed that perception mattered and that this was a unique case involving the estate of a man who was “a household name in every Chinese community around the world”, with the complex and potentially volatile dynamics among his four families intensified by their substantial wealth.

As an example, Lam reminded the court of their public dispute in 2010 and 2011, when Ho’s first family was “completely left out” while the second and third changed the structure of his casino holdings, prompting legal action before settlement was reached.

Urging the court to accept his clients’ proposal, Lam said: “The seeds of dispute have been planted before Dr Ho’s death but, certainly, we hope, with a harmonious beginning, this would not result in litigation.”

Mr Justice Wilson Chan Ka-shun has reserved judgment.