Monday, January 11th was a sombre day for many in the casino industry as it marked the passing of billionaire and casino industry veteran, Sheldon Adelson. Adelson was 87 at the time of his death, and he leaves behind a rich legacy as the founder, CEO, and chairman of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation.
He will be mourned most by his second wife, Miriam, their four adopted children, and 11 grandchildren. In September 2020, Forbes had his financial worth estimated at $33.5 billion, which would make him the 28th-richest person on the planet.
A retrospective
Adelson’s story is one of vanquished adversity, and while all the details are too numerous to list, a brief look back on his life reveals an inspirational tale.
The child of immigrants, he was born Sheldon Gary Adelson on August 4th, 1933, in Boston, Massachusetts. His upbringing was one of poverty, and he spent many years of his childhood sleeping on the floor.
At age 12, he showed early initiative, borrowing $200 from his uncle and obtaining a newspaper seller’s license. Three years later, he successfully borrowed $10,000 from his uncle to start a candy vending machine business. After a failed attempt at becoming a court reporter, he enlisted with the military.
Adelson’s early adulthood was no less tumultuous, and by his thirties, he had obtained and lost wealth a few times over. He seemed to find his groove in the late 70s when he and his business partners launched the COMDEX trade show for the computer industry. COMDEX grew to become one of the largest computer trade shows in the world for over 20 years. Once it was sold in 1995, Adelson walked away with a tidy $500 million.
Adelson’s entry into the casino industry came about in 1988 when he purchased the Sands Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas for a sum of $110 million. Three years later, while spending his honeymoon in Venice with his second wife, he had the inspiration to create a mega-resort hotel.
This led to the demolition and of The Sands and the construction of a new venue, an exercise that cost approximately $1.5 billion. The Venetian first opened its doors in May of 1999.
In 2004 Adelson opened the Sands Macao, the first Vegas-style casino in China, and in 2006 he opened the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, a project that cost $5.5 billion. The Venetian Macao opened for $2.4 billion a year later.
In 2015, Adelson acquired the Las Vegas Review-Journal newspaper for $140 million, triggering the resignations of many editors and reporters who cited “curtailed editorial freedom, murky business dealings, and unethical managers” as reasons.
In February 2019, the Las Vegas Sands announced that Adelson was receiving treatment for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Targeted altruism
Adelson was famous for his frequent donations to the causes closest to his heart.
In 2006, he donated $25 million to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority, and in 2007 he began regular contributions to Birthright Israel a non-profit organisation that facilitates trips for Jewish youth to Israel The total contributions from the Adelson Family totalled $140 million.
2010 saw Adelson donate $1 million to a political action committee supporting former Republican Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich. He made further political donations in the 2012 presidential election cycle, where he shelled out $92 million in support of losing Republican candidates, including Gingrich and Mitt Romney.
In 2014 Adelson donated $4 million to stem the legalisation of medical marijuana. He was a fierce opponent of the use of cannabis, which he characterised as a gateway drug. This position likely originated from the death of his adopted son, Mitchell, who had passed away after a heroin and cocaine overdose.
In the same year, Adelson donated $5 million to the Friends of the Israeli Defence Forces. And in September of 2016, he gifted $65 million to the Republican electoral campaign, $25 million of which went to Donald Trump. Following Trump’s presidential victory, Adelson generously handed over another $5 million for the inaugural celebrations.
If nothing else, Adelson was consistent, in 2016, he again contributed towards the fight against the legalisation of marijuana, donating $1 million in Massachusetts and further $1.5 million in Florida.
In 2018, the Republican Party received $113 million from Adelson in support of their efforts in the U.S. election cycle.
In the decade spanning 2010 to 2020, Adelson and his wife donated over $500 million to campaigns and super PACs in favour of the Republican Party.
