Sheldon Adelson.Photo: Bob Riha, Jr./Getty
Sheldon Adelson, a billionaire casino owner and big-time donor to the Republican Party, has died. He was 87.
His casino and resort destination Las Vegas Sands announced the news, confirming that Adelson died Monday night from “complications related to treatment for non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.” There will be a funeral held in Israel, with a Las Vegas memorial service at a later date. According toForbes, he was worth $35 billion.
Adelson used his large fortune amassed over a career of expanding his gambling businesses around the world to fund Republican and right-wing initiatives, including being a major financial supporter of PresidentDonald Trump’s 2016 campaign.
Lam Yik Fei/Bloomberg via Getty
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“Despite being the grandson of a Welsh coal miner and the son of a Boston cab driver,” he wrote at the time, “I’ve had the remarkable experience of being part of almost 50 different businesses in my more than 70-year business career. So, tell me I’m not a conservative enough Republican or I’m too hawkish on Israel or whatever else you may think, but I think I’ve earned the right to talk about success and leadership.”
According toThe New York Times, Adelson attended Trump’s inauguration, to which he contributed an unprecedented $5 million for its organizing committee. Prior to that, he gave the 2016 Trump campaign $25 million, the outlet reported.
Trump, 74, released a statement via the White House saying he and First LadyMelania Trumpare mourning Adelson’s death and they sent their “heartfelt condolences to his wife Miriam, his children and grandchildren.”
“Sheldon lived the true American dream,” the president continued. “His ingenuity, genius, and creativity earned him immense wealth, but his character and philanthropic generosity his great name.”
Adelson’s wife Miriam was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2018, the same year the couple gave some $123 million to Republican PACS and campaigns, according toForbes.
Adelson went from selling and delivering newspapers as a kid to owning major media outlets, including theIsrael Hayomnewspaper in Israel and theLas Vegas Review-Journal. He was also a proponent of Trump’s move to relocate the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem back in 2018.
source: people.com
