Robert Ho

Robert Hung-Ngai Ho (1932 – 30 November 2025) was a Chinese Canadian-American philanthropist and former journalist.

Background Ho was born in British Hong Kong in 1932 to one of the richest families in the then-British colony. Ho's grandfather, Robert Ho Tung, was a prominent businessman and philanthropist. Although born into a religiously Buddhist family, Ho did not become religious himself until adulthood.

He graduated from Colgate University in 1956 with a Bachelor of Arts degree and from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 1958 with a Master's degree in journalism.

Ho died on 30 November 2025, at the age of 93.

Philanthropy Ho moved to Canada in 1989, settling in West Vancouver, British Columbia. There he established the Tung Lin Kok Yuen Canada Society in 1994, named in honour of his grandmother, Lady Clara Hotung (born Cheung Lin Kok); the Vancouver Tung Lin Kok Yuen temple was consecrated in 1995. He further founded the Tung Lin Kok Yuen Canada Foundation in 2005 to fund Buddhist studies.

In 2005, Ho launched the Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation, which encourages younger children to learn about Chinese culture. In 2008, Stanford University renamed its Buddhist Studies Center in his honour after he donated $5 million. As a result of his philanthropy, Ho received an honorary degree from Hong Kong University in 2009, and from Hong Kong Baptist University in 2015. He was also named Member of the Order of British Columbia in 2013 and Member of the Order of Canada in 2018 in recognition of his philanthropic work.

In 2019, Ho donated $15 million to his alma mater Colgate University to establish the Robert Hung Ngai Ho Mind, Brain, and Behavior Initiative. He and his wife Greta also donated $10 million to Lions Gate Hospital in North Vancouver to help build a mental health centre.