You may not have heard of Sheldon Adelson, but you've probably heard of some of his world-famous properties: the Venetian and the Palazzo hotels in Las Vegas, or perhaps the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.

Sheldon Gary Adelson was an American businessman, investor, political donor and philanthropist. He was the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Las Vegas Sands Corporation. He also owned the Israeli daily newspaper Israel Hayom, the Israeli weekly newspaper Makor Rishon, and the American daily newspaper the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

With his business winnings, Adelson died at age 87 on January 11, 2021, from complications related to the treatment of non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

As of September 2020, Adelson was listed by Forbes as having a fortune of US$33.5 billion, making him the 28th-richest person in the world and 17th in the Forbes 400. He is survived by his wife, Miriam, four children and 11 grandchildren.

Adelson was born on August 4, 1933, in Boston, Massachusetts, US, to a traditionally democratic Jewish family. He was the son of a cab driver whose family migrated to the United States from Lithuania.

The son of immigrants from Lithuania and Wales, Adelson grew up sleeping on the floor of a Boston tenement, lacking the riches and the glamour.

As he explained in an editorial posted in the Boulder City Review: “I’ve often said the story of my career would be a true rags-to-riches story, except for the fact that my parents couldn’t even afford the rags.”

At the age of 12, he borrowed $200 from his uncle and started selling Newspaper at a local street corner. In 1950, Adelson joined City College of New York from where he graduated in corporate finance. Without completing his degree, he dropped out and joined the US Army. Soon after, Adelson started working as a court stenographer on Wall Street.

However, employment didn't last long. He quit the Army and started working as an investment adviser and mortgage broker. In 1960, Adelson moved back to Boston with a desire to invest in travel companies; however, the business went out of juice with the crashing of the stock market in the late '60s. Although his success was short-lived, he was able to grab maximum while he can during his cursory opulence.

Soon after the decline of the stock market, Adelson bounced back in the early 1970s as a real estate broker. The much-needed break was attained when he bought Data Communication User in the mid-'70s. From then on, his triumph never saw a downgrade projection. From trade shows for computer industries to condominiums, Adelson gained success one after the other.

Adelson got into the casino business until he was 55 years old. In 1989, he bought the Sands Casino & Hotel in Las Vegas for $128 million. Adelson owned more than half of the $14 billion (sales) gambling empire, which has casinos in Las Vegas, Singapore and Macao, China.

Most of his income has been made through casinos, but he never led his philanthropic character to wither away. From various charitable foundations to museums, he played a critical role in supporting their causes and enhancing the fundamental requisites.
Adelson contributed $2.5 million for an inaugural of GW Bush in 2004.

Adelson also created the Adelson Foundation in 2007 to support a variety of communities and the underprivileged. He and his wife Miriam Adelson were Donald Trump's largest donors.

In 2010, he donated $1 million to American Solutions and $10 million to Gingrich’s campaign in 2012. In 2018, Adelson and his wife donated $123 million to Republican campaigns and political action committees.

Most of his support is directed toward the upliftment of Jewish and Israeli communities. To name a few Museum of Holocaust Art, Heroes' Remembrance Authority and Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs are among his personal best.

While Adelson has passed, his actions changed the lives of many people for the better and his influence in politics & gambling will remain—his wife Miriam and his family now steer a fortune worth $30 billion.

Many a time his ideas flopped yet Sheldon never believed in giving up and continued his voyage. "I look at every business and ask, How long can this last? How can I identify the status quo and change it?"
— Sheldon Adelson

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