An Israeli-American philanthropist, investor, political donor, and businessman, Sheldon Gary Adelson was born on August 4, 1933, and passed away on January 11, 2021.
Before selling The Venetian Las Vegas and the Sands Expo and Convention Center in early 2022, he was the founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Las Vegas Sands Corporation, the parent company of Venetian Macao Limited, and owner of Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands.
His newspaper holdings included the Las Vegas Review-Journal in the United States, the Israeli daily Israel Hayom, and the Israeli weekly Makor Rishon.
Sheldon Adelson Net Worth
American political power broker and business magnate Sheldon Adelson died in January 2021 with a net worth of $40 billion. The casino firm Las Vegas Sands, of which Sheldon is the primary owner and chief executive officer, is the source of his wealth. Adelson didn’t start working in the gambling sector until he was 55 years old, despite the fact that he was well associated with it.
More than 50 companies were founded by Adelson before this. Being a co-founder of the computer trade fair COMDEX was his big break. In 1979, he had four other partners when they established COMDEX. During the year following the 2004 public offering of Las Vegas Sands, Adelson’s net worth reportedly increased by $1 million hourly, every hour of the day and night.
His wealth reached $30 billion just before the 2008 financial meltdown. His wealth plummeted to $2 billion in 2009, when it hit rock bottom. The Palazzo, Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, The Venetian in Las Vegas, and The Venetian Macao are among the most renowned properties owned by Las Vegas Sands.
While Sheldon has taken exception to the label of “rags to riches” millionaire, he has pointed out that his family was impoverished enough to not even own rags.
Sheldon Adelson Early Life
Sheldon Gary Adelson came into this world in Boston, Massachusetts on August 4, 1933. His father worked as a taxi driver; he was an immigrant. The family had a two-room apartment when he was growing up; he was Jewish; his parents were immigrants; and he leant Democratic. While their offspring slept on the floor, their parents slept on a mattress.
When Sheldon was just 12 years old, he began his entrepreneurial career. His uncle loaned him $200, and he began selling newspapers. He took out a second $10,000 loan to launch his vending machine business when he was sixteen years old.
Adelson joined the military after deciding to forego further education. This was the beginning of a string of successful ventures that propelled him to millionaire status in the 1960s. But he had to start over again during this time after losing his whole fortune. Toiletries, magazine advertisements, mortgages, and windshield de-icers were among the first products sold.
COMDEX
In 1979, Adelson and four others established the computer trade expo COMDEX, which would later become an entrepreneurial success story for Adelson. It was a stroke of genius when the company was founded. The computer industry would grow from a little seedling to a massive empire in the span of a few short years.
Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, who debuted their latest products on COMDEX, would become filthy rich within a decade as the computer business made mint fortunes for them. When it grew into one of the world’s largest computer trade exhibitions, he sold it to SoftBank Corporation in 1995 for $862 million. Adelson took home more than $500 million.
Sheldon Adelson Losses in 2008
In 2008, the world economy crashed, destroying Sheldon Adelson’s fortune. Las Vegas Sands Corp. stock plummeted as the economy deteriorated. Adelson lost $4 billion in the first year alone, more than any other American billionaire at the time.
After suffering a $28 billion loss by 2009, his net worth had dropped to $2 billion. But his company got back on its feet rather fast. He became the sixteenth wealthiest man in the world in 2011 when his net worth surpassed $23 billion.
Sheldon Adelson Political Donations
Sheldon was famous for his work with several Jewish and Israeli charities and groups outside of the casino sector as well. He has a number of newspapers in both Israel and the United States. Outside of the gambling sector, Sheldon was primarily known for his support of Republican politicians. Candidates for president would take a plane to Sin City to try to win over the kingmaker.
Sheldon contributed $92 million to Republican-affiliated races and super PACs in 2004. To stop Barack Obama from being re-elected, Sheldon declared in 2012 that he was prepared to pay $100 million. During that time, he and his wife gave the Republican Party $93 million.
For the 2016 presidential election, Sheldon and Miriam contributed $82.58 million; for the 2018 midterms, they contributed $123.25 million. The Adelsons gave Republicans $173 million during the 2020 election season. They were thus the biggest political contributors on the planet.
Sheldon Adelson Las Vegas Review-Journal
Sheldon spent $140 million in 2015 to purchase the biggest newspaper in the region, The Las Vegas Review-Journal. To hide his ownership from the journalists working for the papers, he established a shell corporation. Several editors and staff members left after his ownership was discovered.
Sheldon Adelson Personal connections
The Adelsons’ first marriage took place in the 1970s, when Sheldon wed Sandra and took in her three children from a prior marriage. Their marriage ended in divorce in 1988. After meeting and marrying doctor Miriam Farbstein in 1991, Adelson’s marriage ended shortly after this breakup. They produced a pair of offspring.
Sheldon Adelson Health Issues
Peripheral neuropathy, which impacts the nerves outside of the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord), was Adelson’s official diagnosis in 2001. His capacity to remain upright and move for extended durations therefore diminished.
His battle with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a malignancy of the blood that can manifest with swollen lymph nodes, fever, and extreme fatigue, started in 2019. Adelson is still serving as CEO of Las Vegas Sands notwithstanding these health issues.
Sheldon Adelson Property Listings
One of Malibu’s most exclusive neighborhoods, the renowned Malibu Colony, was where Sheldon Adelson started making a big splash in the mid-1990s. Only 120 homes in the exclusive Malibu Colony community are owned by famous and wealthy people. The community has its own private beach.
Adelson began amassing a large number of surrounding homes in 2013, beginning with the $13.3 million acquisition of two residences owned by renowned soap opera producer Lee Phillip Bell. At first, he was satisfied with owning a single property in the enclave. Over the course of the following several years, Sheldon allegedly spent over $90 million on a variety of properties in the area.
Buying a property in Malibu Colony for $16.9 million in 2020 was his eighth residence. Additionally, Sheldon Adelson is quite active in the Las Vegas real estate market. Miriam and Sheldon possessed the biggest private house in Clark County, Nevada, even though he was obviously preoccupied with Malibu estates.
Eight years after purchasing the 3-acre land for $4 million in 2005, the Adelsons built a house that turned out to be a stunningly big 44,000 square feet. In addition to having its own private water park in the backyard, the property consists of three separate legal lots.
Sheldon Adelson Death
At the age of 87, Sheldon Adelson passed away on January 11, 2021. Complications from the blood malignancy non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma were listed as the cause of death.
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