Commercial Radio’s founder George Ho Ho-chi dies aged 95

George Ho Ho-chi, the Hong Kong media mogul who founded Commercial Radio, died yesterday aged 95.

Ho died peacefully surrounded by relatives at the Hong Kong Sanatorium and Hospital in Happy Valley.

"Everyone at Commercial Radio is saddened. We miss him very much," said the radio station's general manager, Rita Chan Ching-han. "We will always remember his doctrines and principles - social responsibility, not profit, comes first."

Ho was a low-profile and kind-hearted person who "really cared" about the radio staff, she added.

Ho was reported to have been suffering from cancer.

Born in the US in 1918, he was the fifth son of the late tycoon Sir Robert Hotung. He studied at King's College in Hong Kong before returning to the US, where he graduated from the University of California, Berkeley.

Ho founded Commercial Radio in 1959 when he inherited HK$50,000 from his father.