The Naivety of Men - What can we learn from the Stanley Ho estate dispute

Stanley Ho might have been the role model for virtually ALL men on this planet. He's the man who appears to have it all - he's not just the casino mogul who's filthy rich, has enormous power socially and politically, and still looks great at an old age, dishing out the funniest quotes whenever he meets the press before his fatal slip in the bathroom. But the most amazing achievement of all, in the eyes of men, is that he has four "wives" - something that is not supposed to exist any more under today's monogamous marriage law - and the wives and their children all appear to live in harmony under his tactful "management". Stanley Ho undoubtedly lives the life of an emperor, till recently.

The heated dispute over Stanley Ho's enormous estate among the families of his four wives has completely tarnished his perfect emperor image apart. Second wife Lucina Laam and her children, led by "big sister" Pansy, lined up with third wife Ina Chan to claim the fortune of Lanceford. While children of the deceased first wife Clementina are sidelined and appear to have left with no choice but to join fourth wife Angela Leong. Now the case has been taken to court, and how this drama of "estate dispute of the century" - even much more theatrical than Tony Chan's claim for Nina Wang's fortune - will unfold remains unknown. But one thing for sure: It is the WOMEN who are fighting.

Ever since the beginning of the history of the mankind, it's obviously been a fantasy for men to "own" as many women as possible, either to spread their seeds (for reproductive purposes) or demonstrate their power (for vanity reasons). All Chinese emperors had one queen plus 3,000 concubines. Henry VIII broke off from the Roman Catholic Church in order to ditch Queen Katherine to marry Anne Boleyn, and eventually had six wives. And even now, many men still fantasise of having a mistress or a girlfriend other than a wife, or having more than one girlfriends, with each serving different purposes. 

Men thought they could have it all but they are all blinded by their naivety. They naively believe that wives and concubines would live happily and harmoniously with each other, all serving the man they love. They innocently think that it involves little work to manage the women. They all imagine that they have the ultimate control and domination over women, because they thought that they were strong, and women were weak. 

Obviously men have miscalculated one factor - women are natural born schemers. When a man plan for step one, a woman is already thinking five steps ahead. But they just do not take action, because they are smart enough to know that men are naive and feed on their egos, so women just let the men win. Like a mother let a son to get away with things from time to time.  

And this time the women in Ho's family are not letting it go. In this war, all men are mere pieces of chess on the board. Even the "emperor" is now becoming a figurehead. Stanley Ho might have once thought he had all women under control, but it turns out that everything is out of control. 

Men, stop being so naive - Women are not as manageable as they seem to be. If Stanley Ho can't do it, you can't do it. 

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