Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire behind one of the world’s largest casino and resort empires, died Monday night from complications related to the treatment of non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
Adelson got his start in the casino business at age 55, when he and his partners bought the Sands Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas for $128 million. He owned more than half of the multi-billion dollar gambling empire, which spanned Las Vegas, Singapore and Macao, China. With the wealth from his company, Adelson was a prolific donor to right-wing causes in both the U.S. and Israel. A big supporter of President Trump, Adelson was a crucial backer of the president: contributing to his initial campaign in 2016, and then generously backing his re-election bid. Forbes calculated that Adelson and his wife Miriam poured over $215 million into causes supporting Trump and the GOP in the 2020 election cycle.
In 2012, Adelson became the largest individual donor in American electoral history after putting over $90 million into the race against then-President Barack Obama. This number has since been surpassed.
Miriam Adelson lauded her late husband’s legacy in a separate statement released Tuesday morning. “Sheldon was kind. He gave readily of his fortune to charitable causes that may literally be countless, as he expected no credit and often preferred anonymity,” she wrote. “He went beyond bettering the lives of individuals: He crafted the course of nations.”
Read the full profile on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2021/01/12/sheldon-adelson-casino-magnate-and-major-gop-donor-dead-at-87/?sh=70025873563b
Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1
Stay Connected
Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com
Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com
Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.