Sheldon Adelson

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Sheldon Gary Adelson (August 4, 1933 – January 11, 2021) was an American billionaire businessman, investor, casino magnate, newspaper publisher, and one of the most influential political donors in modern American history. As the founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Las Vegas Sands Corporation, Adelson built one of the largest casino and integrated resort companies in the world, transforming the gaming industry through the development of mega-resorts that combined luxury hotels, convention centers, shopping malls, and casinos into single destinations that redefined entertainment and hospitality on a global scale.

Born to immigrant parents in a working-class Boston neighborhood, Adelson embodied the American dream of rising from poverty to extraordinary wealth through entrepreneurial hustle and determination. He started his first business selling newspapers at age 10 with money borrowed from his uncle, and over the next six decades, he would create nearly fifty different businesses—winning and losing fortunes multiple times before striking gold with the COMDEX computer trade show in the 1980s and then the Las Vegas Sands casino empire in the 1990s and 2000s. His most audacious move came when he razed the historic Sands Hotel and Casino—the legendary home of Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack—to build The Venetian, a $1.5 billion Venice-themed mega-resort that opened in 1999 and set a new standard for Las Vegas luxury.

Beyond Las Vegas, Adelson expanded aggressively into Asia, opening Macau's first Las Vegas-style casino in 2004 and Singapore's Marina Bay Sands in 2010—at the time the most expensive building ever constructed. His Macau operations were phenomenally successful, multiplying his personal wealth more than fourteen-fold in just a few years. At his peak in 2007, Forbes estimated his net worth at $26.5 billion, making him the third-richest person in America, though the 2008 financial crisis temporarily devastated his fortune before a remarkable recovery.

Adelson was equally renowned—and controversial—for his political activities. Often called a Republican "kingmaker," he and his wife Miriam donated more than $500 million to Republican candidates and causes between 2010 and 2020, making them the largest individual political donors in American history. He was Donald Trump's biggest donor in both 2016 and 2020, and his support was instrumental in advancing his favored policy priorities, most notably the relocation of the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. In Israel itself, Adelson wielded enormous influence through his ownership of Israel Hayom, a free daily newspaper that became the country's most widely read publication and was often criticized as essentially a propaganda organ for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

When Adelson died on January 11, 2021, at age 87 after a battle with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, he left behind a complex legacy: a self-made billionaire who transformed multiple industries, a fierce advocate for Israel and the Jewish people, a patron of Republican politics whose influence reshaped American elections, and a controversial figure whose methods and motivations were endlessly debated. His widow, Miriam Adelson, inherited his fortune and has continued his political and philanthropic activities, maintaining the family's position as one of the most powerful forces in American conservatism.

Early life and family background

Immigrant roots in Boston

Sheldon Gary Adelson was born on August 4, 1933, in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, into a working-class Jewish family that had emigrated from Eastern Europe. His father, Arthur Adelson, was of Ukrainian Jewish and Lithuanian Jewish ancestry and worked as a taxi driver in Boston, earning modest wages to support his family during the difficult years of the Great Depression. His mother, Sarah Tonkin, had emigrated from England, and Adelson would later proudly note that his maternal grandfather was a Welsh coal miner—a detail that connected him to the working-class roots he never forgot even after accumulating billions of dollars.

The Dorchester neighborhood where Adelson grew up was a densely populated, multi-ethnic area that served as a stepping stone for immigrant families seeking the American dream. Like many children of immigrants in that era, young Sheldon learned early the value of hard work, the importance of seizing opportunities, and the determination required to overcome obstacles. The family's modest circumstances meant that luxuries were few, but the environment also fostered the entrepreneurial spirit that would define Adelson's life.

Adelson's Jewish identity was central to his upbringing and would remain a core part of his identity throughout his life. Growing up during the 1930s and 1940s, he was aware of both the promise and the persecution that defined the Jewish experience in the twentieth century. The Holocaust was unfolding in Europe during his childhood years, and the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 occurred when he was fifteen years old. These formative experiences would later inform his passionate support for Israel and Jewish causes, which became perhaps the most important focus of his philanthropy and political activities.

Early entrepreneurial ventures

Adelson's entrepreneurial career began remarkably early. At just ten years old, in 1943, he borrowed $200 from his uncle and purchased a license to sell newspapers on a street corner in Boston. This first business venture taught him fundamental lessons about commerce: finding customers, managing money, and understanding that success required showing up every day regardless of weather or mood. The newspaper stand also demonstrated that with a small amount of capital and a willingness to work, a determined individual could create value from nothing.

By the time he was fifteen, in 1948, Adelson's entrepreneurial ambitions had grown considerably. He borrowed $10,000 from his uncle—a substantial sum at the time—to start a candy vending machine business. This venture was more sophisticated than selling newspapers, requiring him to understand inventory management, machine maintenance, customer preferences, and location selection. The vending machine business taught him about scaling operations and the power of systems that could generate revenue even when he wasn't personally present.

These childhood businesses established patterns that would characterize Adelson's entire career: the willingness to borrow capital to seize opportunities, the confidence to take risks at a young age, and the understanding that multiple small transactions could add up to significant wealth. They also revealed his impatience with traditional paths to success; rather than focusing solely on school, Adelson was already thinking about how to build businesses and make money.

Education and military service

Adelson's formal education was notably limited compared to many of his fellow billionaires. He attended the City College of New York but did not graduate, apparently finding the academic environment less compelling than the world of business. He also attended trade school in an unsuccessful attempt to become a court reporter, a career path that would have provided steady but modest income. The trade school experience demonstrated his willingness to explore different options, even if this particular one didn't work out.

After his various educational attempts, Adelson enlisted in the United States Army. Military service provided structure, discipline, and a different kind of education—lessons in organization, hierarchy, and the importance of following through on commitments. While Adelson did not make a career of the military, the experience contributed to his development and gave him stories he would later tell about the diversity of experiences that had shaped him.

Upon discharge from the Army, Adelson returned to civilian life with no college degree but with considerable business experience for his age and an unquenchable drive to succeed. He would later view his unconventional educational background as an asset rather than a liability, believing that real-world experience taught lessons that no classroom could provide. This perspective would inform his later approach to business, which emphasized action, risk-taking, and learning from both successes and failures.

Building and losing fortunes

Serial entrepreneurship in the 1950s and 1960s

After leaving the Army, Adelson embarked on a period of intense entrepreneurial activity that would see him start numerous businesses across a wide range of industries. He established a business selling toiletry kits, then launched De-Ice-It, a company that marketed a chemical spray to clear ice from windshields—a product particularly relevant for the harsh New England winters he knew from his Boston upbringing. Each venture taught him something new about business, even when the ventures themselves were not particularly successful.

In the 1960s, Adelson started a charter tour business, entering the growing travel industry at a time when Americans were beginning to explore both domestic and international destinations in greater numbers. This business exposed him to the hospitality and tourism sectors that would later become central to his career. It also introduced him to the importance of customer experience and the potential for premium pricing when services exceeded expectations.

By his thirties, Adelson had already built and lost his fortune twice. These cycles of success and failure were formative experiences that would have discouraged many entrepreneurs but only seemed to strengthen Adelson's determination. He came to view failure not as a permanent setback but as a temporary obstacle that could be overcome with persistence and new ideas. This resilience would prove essential in his later career, particularly during the 2008 financial crisis when he would lose $25 billion before rebuilding his wealth.

Over the course of his business career, Adelson would create nearly fifty different businesses, making him what venture capitalists would call a serial entrepreneur. While most of these ventures are now forgotten, they provided the experience, knowledge, and connections that would eventually enable him to build lasting enterprises. Each business, whether successful or not, added to his understanding of what worked and what didn't in the marketplace.

The charter tour business and hospitality experience

Adelson's charter tour business in the 1960s gave him his first sustained exposure to the travel and hospitality industry. The business involved organizing group travel packages, which required coordinating transportation, accommodations, entertainment, and meals for large numbers of customers. This experience taught him about the complexities of managing customer expectations across multiple service touchpoints—lessons that would prove directly applicable to the integrated resort concept he would later pioneer.

The tour business also introduced Adelson to the economics of hospitality, including the importance of occupancy rates, the value of repeat customers, and the potential for premium pricing when experiences exceeded expectations. He learned that customers would pay more for convenience, quality, and memorable experiences—insights that would inform his later development of mega-resorts that offered everything guests could want in a single location.

Perhaps most importantly, the charter tour business connected Adelson to Las Vegas, which was becoming a popular destination for tour groups seeking entertainment and excitement. These early visits to Las Vegas exposed him to the casino industry and planted seeds that would eventually grow into his Las Vegas Sands empire. He observed how casinos operated, how they attracted and retained customers, and how the combination of gambling, entertainment, and hospitality created a unique and profitable business model.

COMDEX and the path to wealth

Founding the computer trade show

In the late 1970s, Adelson and several partners formed the Interface Group in Massachusetts and made a fateful decision to enter the trade show business. In 1979, they launched COMDEX, the Computer Dealers Exposition, a trade show for the rapidly growing personal computer industry. Remarkably, Adelson himself claimed no expertise in computers—his genius lay in recognizing the opportunity and creating a venue where the industry could gather to do business.

The first COMDEX opened in a ballroom at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in 1979 with 167 exhibitors and 3,904 attendees. While modest by later standards, the show tapped into the explosive growth of the personal computer industry just as companies like Apple, IBM, and Microsoft were beginning to transform how people worked and lived. COMDEX provided a neutral ground where hardware manufacturers, software developers, and computer dealers could meet, demonstrate products, and make deals.

The timing proved propitious. The personal computer revolution was just beginning, and the industry needed gathering places where relationships could be built and products showcased. COMDEX filled this need perfectly, growing from its humble beginnings into one of the largest trade shows in the world. The show's popularity exploded especially after Bill Gates and Microsoft embraced it as a key venue for product announcements and industry networking.

Growth and dominance

COMDEX became the largest trade show produced in Las Vegas, with attendance reaching 100,000 in 1987 and 125,000 in 1988. At its peak, the show filled every hotel room in Las Vegas and attracted exhibitors from around the world eager to showcase their products to the concentrated audience of industry buyers and press. Major product announcements were timed to coincide with COMDEX, and attendance became essential for anyone serious about the computer industry.

The show's dominance reflected both the explosive growth of the computer industry and Adelson's skill at creating and managing large-scale events. He understood that trade shows were essentially real estate businesses—success depended on attracting the right exhibitors and attendees to create a marketplace where business could be done efficiently. His background in various service businesses had taught him how to manage complex operations with many moving parts.

COMDEX also demonstrated Adelson's understanding of network effects in business. As more exhibitors signed up, the show became more attractive to attendees, which in turn attracted more exhibitors. This virtuous cycle drove the show's growth and made it increasingly difficult for competitors to challenge COMDEX's dominance. The show became the essential gathering place for the computer industry, and being absent was not a viable option for serious companies.

The $862 million sale to SoftBank

In 1995, at the height of COMDEX's dominance, Adelson and his partners made the strategic decision to sell the Interface Group Show Division, including COMDEX, to SoftBank Group of Japan for $862 million. Adelson's personal share from the sale exceeded $500 million, providing him with the capital needed to pursue his next great venture: transforming the Las Vegas hospitality industry.

The sale demonstrated Adelson's ability to recognize when an asset had reached its peak value and to take profits accordingly. While COMDEX continued for several more years under SoftBank's ownership, the show eventually declined as major participants like Apple, IBM, and Compaq opted to stage their own corporate events to introduce products. The last COMDEX drew around 40,000 people in 2003, a fraction of its peak attendance.

By selling when he did, Adelson avoided the decline that would follow and converted his stake in a declining asset into cash that could fund new opportunities. The $500+ million from the COMDEX sale became the foundation for his Las Vegas casino empire, proving once again his skill at timing major business decisions. What had started as a small trade show in an MGM ballroom had become the capital for one of the largest casino companies in history.

The Las Vegas Sands empire

Acquiring the legendary Sands

In 1988, three years before the COMDEX sale, Adelson purchased the Sands Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas for $110 million. The Sands was a legendary property, forever associated in the public mind with Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack, who had made it the center of Las Vegas entertainment in the 1960s. Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., and Peter Lawford had performed there, creating memories that defined an era of American entertainment.

By the time Adelson acquired it, however, the Sands had seen better days. The property was aging, and newer, more lavish casinos were drawing away customers. But Adelson saw opportunity where others saw decline. He recognized that the Las Vegas market was evolving and that the future belonged to larger, more integrated properties that could offer guests everything they wanted in a single location.

The year after purchasing the Sands, Adelson and his partners built the Sands Expo and Convention Center, then the only privately owned and operated convention center in the United States. At the time of its opening, it was one of the world's largest privately owned convention centers with more than two million square feet of meeting space. The convention center reflected Adelson's understanding, from his COMDEX experience, that business travel was a major driver of hotel occupancy and casino revenue.

The Venetian vision

In 1991, while honeymooning in Venice, Italy, with his second wife, Miriam, Adelson conceived the idea that would transform his career and the Las Vegas Strip. Inspired by the beauty and romance of Venice, he envisioned a mega-resort hotel that would recreate the Italian city's most famous features—the canals, the architecture, the atmosphere—in the Nevada desert. It was an audacious vision that many dismissed as impractical or foolish.

To realize his dream, Adelson made the controversial decision to demolish the historic Sands Hotel. On November 26, 1996, the property that had hosted Sinatra and the Rat Pack was razed in a nationally televised implosion. For many Las Vegas veterans, the destruction of the Sands marked the end of an era, but for Adelson, it was clearing the way for the future.

Adelson invested $1.5 billion to construct The Venetian, an extraordinary sum at the time that dwarfed previous casino construction budgets. The resort featured recreations of Venice's St. Mark's Square, the Campanile, the Doge's Palace, and the Rialto Bridge. Indoor canals with singing gondoliers transported guests through the property. Every detail was designed to transport visitors to another world, creating an immersive experience that went far beyond traditional casino offerings.

Opening The Venetian

The Venetian opened on May 3, 1999, with great fanfare—singing gondoliers, sounding trumpets, and a flutter of white doves. Actress Sophia Loren joined Adelson in dedicating the first motorized gondola. The opening marked a new chapter in Las Vegas history, demonstrating that casinos could be destinations in themselves rather than merely places to gamble.

The resort pioneered the concept of all-suite accommodations, with standard rooms averaging 650 square feet—nearly twice the size of typical Las Vegas hotel rooms. This premium positioning allowed The Venetian to charge higher rates while delivering genuine value to guests. The strategy proved successful, establishing The Venetian as one of the Strip's premier properties.

The Venetian also integrated retail shopping, fine dining, and entertainment with gaming and accommodations in ways that previous properties had not matched. The Grand Canal Shoppes brought high-end retail to the resort, while multiple restaurants offered dining options ranging from casual to world-class. The integrated resort concept that Adelson pioneered at The Venetian would become the template for casino development worldwide.

Macau: The Asian gold rush

Adelson's most profitable expansion came in Macau, the former Portuguese colony that had become a Special Administrative Region of China. When China opened Macau's gaming industry to outside competition in 2002, Adelson moved aggressively to secure a license, recognizing the enormous potential of bringing Las Vegas-style casinos to the world's most populous country.

The Sands Macao opened in May 2004 as China's first Las Vegas-style casino. The 1,000,000 square foot property was an immediate sensation, and Adelson recovered his entire $265 million investment in just one year. When he took the company public in December 2004, his personal wealth multiplied more than fourteen-fold as investors piled into what they saw as a bet on China's growing middle class and their appetite for gaming and entertainment.

In August 2007, Adelson opened the $2.4 billion Venetian Macao Resort Hotel on Cotai, a strip of reclaimed land between Macau's two islands. He announced ambitious plans to develop what he called the Cotai Strip, after its Las Vegas counterpart, with hotels under brands including Four Seasons, Sheraton, and St. Regis. Las Vegas Sands planned to invest $12 billion and build 20,000 hotel rooms on the Cotai Strip by 2010.

The Macau operations transformed Adelson from a successful casino operator into one of the richest people in the world. The Chinese gaming market proved even more lucrative than Las Vegas, with revenues far exceeding the American market. Adelson had bet big on Asia and won spectacularly.

Marina Bay Sands: The world's most expensive building

In May 2006, Adelson's Las Vegas Sands was awarded a hotly contested license to construct a casino resort in Marina Bay, Singapore. The new property, Marina Bay Sands, opened in 2010 at a total cost of S$8 billion (approximately $5.5 billion at the time), including land costs. When it opened, Marina Bay Sands was the most expensive building in the world, surpassing even the new World Trade Center development in Manhattan and the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

The Marina Bay Sands complex was an architectural marvel, featuring three 55-story towers connected at the top by a one-hectare SkyPark with the world's largest rooftop infinity pool. The property included a 2,500-room hotel, a convention center, theaters, stores at "The Shoppes" along an indoor Venetian-style canal, and of course, a casino. The design, by architect Moshe Safdie, became an instant icon and transformed Singapore's skyline.

Marina Bay Sands demonstrated Adelson's ability to execute massive, complex projects in challenging regulatory environments. Singapore had legalized casino gaming only in 2006, and the license came with strict requirements regarding local employment, problem gambling prevention, and integration with the broader tourism industry. Adelson delivered a property that met these requirements while establishing a new standard for integrated resort development.

The 2008 financial crisis and recovery

The 2008 global financial crisis hit Adelson harder than almost any other American billionaire. As credit markets froze and consumer spending collapsed, Las Vegas Sands' share price plummeted. In November 2008, the company announced it might default on its bonds, raising the specter of bankruptcy for the entire enterprise. Adelson's personal net worth, which had peaked at approximately $30 billion, collapsed to around $2 billion—a 93% decline that represented the largest loss by any American billionaire during the crisis.

Adelson responded to the crisis with characteristic defiance. When asked about losing $25 billion, he told ABC News: "So I lost $25 billion. I started out with zero... [there is] no such thing as fear, not to an entrepreneur. Concern, yes. Fear, no." He put personal funds into the company to maintain operations and negotiated with creditors to avoid default. His willingness to bet his personal fortune on the company's survival demonstrated the same risk tolerance that had built his empire in the first place.

The recovery was remarkably swift. As the global economy stabilized and Asian gaming revenues rebounded, Las Vegas Sands' fortunes improved dramatically. By 2011, Adelson was ranked as the world's 16th-richest man with a net worth of $23.3 billion. By 2013, Forbes named him to its annual "Biggest Winner" list, noting that the success of his Macau and Singapore properties had added an estimated $15 billion to his net worth during the year. The boom-and-bust-and-boom cycle demonstrated both the risks and rewards of Adelson's aggressive business strategy.

Media empire and press influence

Israel Hayom: Reshaping Israeli media

In 2007, after an unsuccessful bid to purchase the Israeli newspaper Maariv, Adelson launched Israel Hayom (Israel Today), a free daily newspaper that would fundamentally reshape Israel's media landscape. The paper was distributed without charge, an unusual model that allowed it to rapidly gain readers while undercutting the advertising revenues of competing publications. Within four years, Israel Hayom had become Israel's most widely read weekday newspaper, achieving a 39.3% readership exposure according to surveys.

Adelson reportedly poured some $200 million into Israel Hayom's operations, running the newspaper at a loss that would have been unsustainable for any commercial enterprise. Critics charged that the purpose was not to build a profitable media business but to create a platform that would advance Adelson's political agenda, particularly his support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The paper's editorial stance was unequivocally supportive of Netanyahu, leading even right-wing politicians like Avigdor Lieberman and Naftali Bennett to compare it to Pravda, the Soviet propaganda newspaper.

The nickname "Bibiton"—a play on Netanyahu's nickname "Bibi" and the Hebrew word for newspaper—reflected the widespread perception that Israel Hayom functioned primarily as a promotional vehicle for the prime minister. Research published in academic journals found that the newspaper "exerted significant electoral influence" by increasing support for Netanyahu's Likud party. The paper's unfailing backing of Netanyahu was characterized by the playing down of his failures, the hyping of his achievements, and the lashing of his critics.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal purchase

In December 2015, Adelson expanded his media holdings to the United States by purchasing the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Nevada's largest newspaper. The purchase was initially made through a shell company called News + Media Capital Group LLC, and Adelson's involvement was kept secret. A week after the purchase was announced, three Review-Journal reporters revealed that the deal had been orchestrated by Adelson's son-in-law Patrick Dumont on Adelson's behalf.

The $140 million price tag was widely described as a dramatic overpayment, leading to speculation that Adelson's motivations were primarily political rather than commercial. Commentators suggested the purchase was a power play to further Adelson's business and political agendas through control of Las Vegas's major daily newspaper. The secretive nature of the initial transaction reinforced concerns about Adelson's intentions.

In the months following the purchase, numerous reporters and editors left the newspaper, citing what they described as curtailed editorial freedom, murky business dealings, and unethical managers. All three reporters who had originally broken the story about Adelson's ownership departed. Longtime columnist John L. Smith, who had often written critically about Adelson and had been unsuccessfully sued by him for libel, resigned after being told he could no longer write anything about Adelson. The Las Vegas Review-Journal became the first major newspaper nationwide to endorse Donald Trump in 2016.

Press freedom concerns

Adelson's media ownership raised significant concerns about press freedom and the influence of wealthy individuals on journalism. Critics argued that using billions of dollars to establish newspapers that operated at a loss created unfair competition that could drive legitimate journalism out of business. The willingness to use media properties to advance political agendas, rather than to inform the public objectively, was seen as a threat to democratic discourse.

Supporters countered that Adelson had every right to support causes he believed in through whatever legal means he chose, including newspaper ownership. They noted that liberal billionaires also owned media properties and that concerns about Adelson's influence reflected political bias rather than principled commitment to press freedom. The debate over Adelson's media activities reflected broader questions about the role of wealthy individuals in shaping public opinion.

Republican kingmaker

Rise to political influence

Adelson's emergence as a dominant force in Republican politics accelerated following the Citizens United Supreme Court decision in 2010, which removed many restrictions on political spending by declaring contribution limits unconstitutional infringements on free speech. The ruling "liberated" Adelson, as some observers put it, allowing him to deploy his fortune on a scale previously impossible. He quickly became what political observers called a "kingmaker"—a donor whose support could make or break Republican candidates.

According to Adelson himself, his turn toward heavy political spending was motivated in part by his clashes with labor unions at his Las Vegas properties. Former Nevada Congresswoman Shelley Berkley, who had worked for Adelson in the 1990s as vice-president of legal and governmental affairs, quoted him as saying that "old Democrats were with the union and he wanted to break the back of the union, consequently he had to break the back of the Democrats." Whether this animus toward unions was the primary motivation or merely one factor among many, Adelson became one of the Democratic Party's most determined opponents.

In a 2012 interview with Forbes, Adelson addressed the apparent contradiction between his stated opposition to wealthy people influencing elections and his own prolific political spending. "I am against very wealthy people attempting to or influencing elections," he said. "But as long as it's doable I'm going to do it. Because I know that guys like Soros have been doing it for years, if not decades." He distinguished his approach by noting that he did not hide behind shell corporations: "I'm proud of what I do and I'm not looking to escape recognition."

The 2012 "Adelson primary"

The 2012 Republican presidential primaries became known informally as the "Adelson primary" because of the outsized influence his potential support had on candidates' behavior. Republican hopefuls made pilgrimages to Las Vegas to meet with Adelson, understanding that his backing could provide the financial resources needed to compete nationally. The competition to become Adelson's favored candidate dominated coverage of the primary season.

Adelson initially backed Newt Gingrich, donating $5 million to the pro-Gingrich super PAC Winning Our Future in January 2012 when Gingrich's campaign was faltering. This infusion of cash revived Gingrich's campaign and financed attack ads against Mitt Romney, including a half-hour film that portrayed Romney as a "predatory corporate raider." Adelson's wife Miriam contributed an additional $5 million to the same organization, and Adelson told Forbes he was willing to donate as much as $100 million to support Gingrich.

After Gingrich dropped out of the race, Adelson shifted his support to the eventual nominee, Mitt Romney. In June 2012, he donated $10 million to the pro-Romney super PAC Restore Our Future. Altogether, Adelson spent $92 million supporting Republican candidates during the 2012 election cycle—all on the losing side, as Barack Obama won re-election. The loss did not diminish Adelson's influence; if anything, it increased the attention paid to his preferences in subsequent cycles.

Trump alliance

The relationship between Adelson and Donald Trump evolved through the 2016 campaign. Initially, Adelson sat out the Republican primaries, apparently uncertain about which candidate to support. Some early indicators were interpreted as showing Adelson favored Trump, but he held his fire while the primary contest played out.

In May 2016, Adelson officially endorsed Trump's presidential bid, citing the importance of CEO experience in a presidential nominee. By the end of the general election campaign, Adelson had contributed $25 million to Trump's campaign as part of a $65 million donation to Republican electoral efforts, making him by far the largest donor to Trump's White House bid and the largest donor in either party during the 2016 cycle. The Las Vegas Review-Journal's endorsement of Trump—the first major newspaper to do so—was seen as further evidence of Adelson's support.

After Trump's victory, Adelson contributed a record-breaking $5 million to Trump's January 2017 inauguration, more than any other donor. The relationship between the two men deepened during Trump's presidency, with Adelson gaining a direct line to the White House and seeing his policy priorities advance. Most notably, Trump fulfilled Adelson's long-advocated goal of moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a move that Adelson had reportedly pressured through a $20 million donation to a super PAC.

$500 million in political donations

Between 2010 and 2020, according to federal records, Adelson and his wife Miriam donated more than $500 million to Republican Party campaigns and super PACs, making them the largest individual political donors in American history. During the 2020 election cycle alone, the Adelsons gave $218 million to Republican causes, setting a new record for donations from individuals in a single election cycle.

The donations supported a wide range of Republican candidates and organizations. Adelson contributed to the Republican National Committee, various super PACs, and individual candidates across the country. His giving was strategic, focusing on races where his contributions could make the greatest difference and on organizations aligned with his policy priorities, particularly support for Israel and opposition to online gambling.

Critics argued that this level of political spending represented a corruption of democracy, allowing a single wealthy individual to exert disproportionate influence over American politics. Supporters countered that Adelson was simply exercising his First Amendment rights and that his spending was transparent and legal. The debate over Adelson's political influence reflected broader concerns about the role of money in American elections following Citizens United.

Policy priorities and influence

Adelson's political donations were motivated by specific policy goals that he pursued consistently throughout his years as a major donor. His top priority was support for Israel, including opposition to a two-state solution with the Palestinians, support for settlements in the West Bank, and the relocation of the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem. The embassy move, announced by Trump in December 2017, was widely attributed in part to Adelson's influence.

Adelson also fought vigorously against the legalization of online gambling, which he viewed as a threat to his brick-and-mortar casino business. He funded candidates who supported legislation to restrict internet gaming and personally lobbied members of Congress on the issue. His efforts to ban online gambling were controversial even within the conservative movement, with some free-market advocates questioning why gambling should be restricted to physical locations.

Opposition to marijuana legalization was another Adelson priority, motivated in part by personal tragedy—his son Mitchell had died of an overdose of heroin and cocaine after struggling with addiction from an early age. Adelson believed cannabis was a gateway drug and donated millions to ballot measure campaigns opposing marijuana legalization in various states. While his efforts did not prevent the nationwide trend toward legalization, they slowed the progress in some states and demonstrated his willingness to spend heavily on causes he cared about.

Israel and Jewish philanthropy

Birthright Israel and Jewish causes

Adelson was one of the largest donors to Jewish causes in modern history. Since 2007, the Adelson Family Foundation contributed more than $140 million to Birthright Israel, the organization that finances free trips to Israel for Jewish youth from around the world. These trips, which have brought hundreds of thousands of young Jews to Israel, were designed to strengthen Jewish identity and connection to the Jewish state among diaspora communities.

The Adelsons' commitment to Birthright Israel reflected their belief that maintaining Jewish identity and support for Israel among young American Jews was essential for both communities. By funding trips that provided transformative experiences for young people, they hoped to create lifelong connections to Israel and to Jewish peoplehood. The program's scale and impact made it one of the most significant initiatives in modern Jewish philanthropy.

In 2014, Adelson donated $5 million to the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, supporting the men and women who serve in Israel's military. He also contributed $25 million to Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust memorial, in 2006, reflecting his deep commitment to Holocaust remembrance and education. These donations positioned Adelson as one of the most important philanthropic supporters of Israel and Jewish causes worldwide.

Medical research and education

Beyond his Jewish and Israel-related giving, Adelson funded significant medical research through the Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Medical Research Foundation, based in Boston. The foundation initiated the Adelson Program in Neural Repair and Rehabilitation (APNRR), providing $7.5 million to collaborating researchers at ten universities working on treatments for neurological conditions. This giving reflected both the Adelsons' interest in medical science and Miriam Adelson's background as a physician.

Adelson also supported education in Las Vegas, donating over $25 million to The Adelson Educational Campus to build a high school. The school, which opened in 2007, provides Jewish education in Las Vegas, filling a need in a community that had grown rapidly but lacked comprehensive Jewish educational institutions. The donation reflected Adelson's commitment to his adopted hometown and to ensuring Jewish education was available to young people in Southern Nevada.

Support for Netanyahu

Adelson's relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was perhaps the most controversial aspect of his Israel-related activities. Through Israel Hayom, Adelson provided Netanyahu with a powerful media platform that consistently supported the prime minister and attacked his critics. The relationship was so close that critics charged Adelson with effectively subsidizing Netanyahu's political career through his newspaper.

A key state witness in Netanyahu's corruption trials testified that Netanyahu had actively pushed for the establishment of Israel Hayom, with the explicit goal of undermining the rival newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth. According to testimony, Netanyahu "was involved in recruiting Sheldon Adelson to establish a paper that would take down Yedioth Ahronoth." If true, this would mean that Israel Hayom was created not merely to support Netanyahu but at his specific instigation.

The relationship eventually soured when the Adelsons became witnesses in the corruption trial known as Case 2000. In leaked transcripts from a police interview, Adelson told investigators: "I will never meet [Netanyahu] again because of what I read." Reports indicated that Netanyahu had offered to use his power as prime minister to limit Israel Hayom's distribution in exchange for favorable coverage in competing publications—essentially proposing to undermine the newspaper Adelson had spent hundreds of millions of dollars to build. Despite this rupture, Adelson's support for Israel and Israeli causes continued unabated until his death.

Personal life

First marriage and family

In the 1970s, Sheldon Adelson lived in Massachusetts with his first wife, Sandra, and her three children—Mitchell, Gary, and Shelley—whom Sheldon adopted when they were young. The family life during this period coincided with Adelson's building of the COMDEX trade show business, which would eventually make him wealthy. The couple divorced in 1988, around the time Adelson was acquiring the Sands Hotel and Casino.

Adelson's relationship with his adopted children had its difficulties. His son Mitchell struggled with drug addiction from an early age and eventually died of an overdose of heroin and cocaine. This personal tragedy profoundly affected Adelson and motivated his later opposition to marijuana legalization, which he believed represented a gateway to harder drugs. Mitchell's death was rarely discussed publicly, but those who knew Adelson understood it was a source of lasting pain.

Marriage to Miriam

Adelson met Miriam Farbstein Ochshorn, an Israeli-born physician, on a blind date in 1989, the year after his divorce from Sandra. The meeting was arranged by mutual acquaintances who thought the two might be compatible. Despite their different backgrounds—he a Boston-born entrepreneur, she an Israeli medical professional—they connected quickly. They married in Jerusalem in 1991, beginning a partnership that would last until Adelson's death thirty years later.

Miriam brought her own impressive credentials to the marriage. Born in Mandatory Palestine in 1945 to parents who had fled Poland before the Holocaust, she earned a Bachelor of Science in microbiology and genetics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a medical degree from Tel Aviv University's Sackler Medical School. She became the chief internist in an emergency room at Tel Aviv's Rokach (Hadassah) Hospital and in 1993 founded a substance abuse center and research clinic there.

The couple shared a passion for Israel and Jewish causes that became central to their philanthropy. In 2000, they opened the Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Research Clinic in Las Vegas, combining their interests in medicine and their new hometown. Miriam's medical background and interest in addiction treatment complemented Sheldon's business acumen and philanthropic ambitions, creating a partnership that would distribute billions of dollars to causes they believed in.

Wealth and lifestyle

At his peak in 2007, Forbes estimated Adelson's net worth at $26.5 billion, making him the third-richest person in the United States. Even after the devastating losses of the 2008 financial crisis, his wealth recovered dramatically in subsequent years. At the time of his death in 2021, Forbes estimated his net worth at $29.8 billion.

Adelson owned a fleet of private jets through Las Vegas Sands, which he used for both business and personal travel. On January 2, 2017, his Airbus A340-500 jet set a record for Ben Gurion International Airport by making the longest flight ever leaving the airport—a nonstop journey to Honolulu, Hawaii, by way of the Arctic Ocean. Such records reflected Adelson's taste for the extraordinary and his willingness to use his wealth to accomplish things others considered impossible.

Despite his enormous wealth, Adelson was not primarily known for ostentatious personal consumption. His giving to political and philanthropic causes dwarfed any spending on personal luxuries. He seemed genuinely more interested in wielding influence and supporting causes he believed in than in accumulating possessions or living extravagantly. The Adelsons owned properties but were not known for collecting art, yachts, or other trophy assets favored by some billionaires.

Legal controversies

Macau bribery allegations

Adelson's Macau operations attracted scrutiny from federal investigators over alleged violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), which prohibits American companies from bribing foreign officials. The company was reportedly under investigation for payments made to a Macau lawyer in connection with obtaining gaming licenses. In a 2013 regulatory filing, Las Vegas Sands acknowledged that it had "likely" violated federal law prohibiting the bribery of foreign officials.

In 2015, Sands agreed to pay a $9 million settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which included no admission of wrongdoing. The settlement resolved the investigation without criminal charges, though critics noted that the penalty was trivial compared to the profits Adelson had earned from Macau gaming. The case illustrated the legal risks associated with operating in jurisdictions where corruption was endemic.

Richard Suen litigation

A protracted legal battle with Richard Suen, a Hong Kong businessman who claimed to have helped Adelson make connections with Chinese officials to obtain the Macau gaming license, resulted in multiple trials and appeals. Suen alleged that Adelson had reneged on an agreement to allow him to profit from the venture. In the first trial, Suen won a $43.8 million judgment; in November 2010, the Nevada Supreme Court overturned the judgment and returned the case for further consideration.

In a 2013 retrial, the jury awarded Suen $70 million, and the judge added another $31.6 million in interest, bringing the total judgment against Adelson to $101.6 million. Adelson was in the process of appealing when he died. The Suen litigation revealed details about how Adelson had obtained his Macau license, including testimony about his connections to Tom DeLay, then the House Majority Leader, and allegations about political favors.

Libel suits

Adelson was not shy about using libel laws to protect his reputation. In 2008, he successfully sued the London Daily Mail for libel after the newspaper accused him of pursuing "despicable business practices" and having "habitually and corruptly bought political favour." The court found the allegations to be "a grave slur on Mr. Adelson's personal integrity and business reputation" and awarded approximately £4 million in damages, which Adelson said he would donate to London's Royal Marsden Hospital.

Not all libel claims were successful. When the National Jewish Democratic Council posted on its website that Adelson had "personally approved" of prostitution at his Macau resorts, Adelson sued for libel. A federal judge dismissed the suit in September 2013, ordering Adelson to pay the NJDC's legal fees. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee similarly faced threats of a libel suit but apologized and withdrew blog posts claiming Adelson had donated "Chinese prostitution money" to Republicans.

Illness and death

Health decline

In 2001, Adelson was diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy, a condition affecting the nerves in his extremities that restricted his ability to stand and walk. Despite this limitation, he continued to lead Las Vegas Sands actively for another two decades, adapting his work style to accommodate his physical limitations. The diagnosis did not diminish his ambition or his willingness to take on new challenges.

In February 2019, Las Vegas Sands disclosed that Adelson was receiving treatment for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a form of blood cancer. The news emerged after a Sands attorney claimed Adelson was too weak to sit for a deposition in the ongoing Richard Suen litigation. A company spokesman said the side effects of Adelson's treatment had "restricted his availability to travel or keep regular office hours" but had not "prevented him from fulfilling his duties as chairman and CEO."

The cancer diagnosis marked the beginning of Adelson's final years. He continued to participate in major decisions at Las Vegas Sands and maintained his political and philanthropic activities, but his public appearances became less frequent. The man who had seemed indestructible—who had lost and rebuilt his fortune multiple times and survived the 2008 financial crisis—was finally confronting a challenge that money and determination could not overcome.

Death and burial in Israel

Sheldon Adelson died on January 11, 2021, at his home in Malibu, California, at the age of 87. The cause of death was complications from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and other long-term illnesses. His death came just days after the January 6 Capitol riot, a tumultuous moment in American politics that his political activities had helped shape.

Three days after his death, Adelson's body arrived in Israel, the country he had supported so passionately throughout his life. His coffin was draped in both American and Israeli flags and was displayed at Ben Gurion Airport, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—despite the recent rupture in their relationship—came to pay his respects. The dual flags symbolized Adelson's identity as both a patriotic American and a devoted supporter of the Jewish state.

Adelson was buried the following day in a small private ceremony on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, one of the most sacred sites in Judaism and a place of special significance for Jews around the world. The choice of burial location reflected his deep connection to Israel and his place in Jewish history as one of the most significant philanthropists and advocates the Jewish people had ever known.

Legacy

Business legacy

Sheldon Adelson's business legacy centers on his transformation of the gaming and hospitality industry. The integrated resort concept he pioneered at The Venetian—combining luxury accommodations, convention facilities, retail, dining, and gaming in a single destination—became the model for casino development worldwide. His expansion into Macau and Singapore demonstrated that the Las Vegas formula could succeed in different cultural contexts and opened new frontiers for the gaming industry.

The companies he built continued after his death, though with significant changes. In March 2021, two months after Adelson's passing, Las Vegas Sands announced the sale of its Las Vegas properties—The Venetian, The Palazzo, and the Sands Expo and Convention Center—to Vici Properties and Apollo Global Management for approximately $6.25 billion. The sale ended the company's presence in Las Vegas, the city where Adelson had built his empire, refocusing the business entirely on its Asian operations in Macau and Singapore.

Political legacy

Adelson's political legacy is deeply contested. Supporters credit him with funding a conservative movement that advanced policies they believe in, from support for Israel to opposition to online gambling. They note that his political spending was legal and transparent, and that he used his wealth to participate in democracy in ways that are protected by the First Amendment.

Critics argue that Adelson's political spending corrupted American democracy by allowing a single wealthy individual to exert disproportionate influence over elections and policy. They point to the embassy move to Jerusalem as evidence that major foreign policy decisions were essentially purchased by mega-donors. The Citizens United decision that enabled Adelson's political spending remains controversial, and his example is often cited by those who favor campaign finance reform.

His widow, Miriam Adelson, has continued his political activities, donating $100 million to a pro-Trump super PAC ahead of the 2024 election and maintaining the family's position as the largest individual donors to Republican causes. In November 2023, she acquired a majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks, extending the family's influence into professional sports. The Adelson political machine continues to operate, even with its founder gone.

Philanthropic impact

The philanthropic impact of Sheldon Adelson's giving will be felt for generations. His contributions to Birthright Israel helped hundreds of thousands of young Jews experience Israel, potentially shaping their Jewish identity and connection to the Jewish state for life. His support for Jewish education, Holocaust remembrance, medical research, and other causes created institutions and funded programs that continue to operate.

The Adelson Educational Campus in Las Vegas provides Jewish education to young people who might otherwise lack access to it. The medical research funded by the Adelson Foundation continues to advance treatments for neurological conditions and other diseases. Yad Vashem preserves the memory of the Holocaust with support from Adelson's contributions.

Yet the philanthropy is also controversial. Critics charge that much of what Adelson called philanthropy was actually political spending in disguise—support for Israel Hayom, for example, served political goals as much as journalistic ones. The line between philanthropy and politics blurred throughout Adelson's career, and reasonable people disagree about where charitable giving ended and political influence began.

References

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