Sheldon Adelson Net Worth: Sheldon Adelson is an American billionaire businessman who has a net worth of $30 billion. His extensive fortune is largely a reflection of his role as CEO of the casino company Las Vegas Stands. Although today Adelson is considered synonymous with the gambling industry, he didn't enter this business until the age of 55. Prior to this, Adelson generated a significant amount of wealth for his role in co-founding COMDEX, a computer trade show.
Outside of the gambling industry, Sheldon is well-known for his close involvement with a number of Jewish and Israeli organizations and charities. He owns several Israeli and American newspapers. He is also a strong supporter of President Trump and has donated millions of dollars to the president's inaugural committee. Sheldon is ranked as the 28th-richest person in the world, as of 2020. Over the course of his life, he has started over 50 businesses.
Early Life: Sheldon Gary Adelson was born on August 4th of 1933 in Boston, Massachusetts. Raised in a low-income, Jewish family with immigrant roots and Democrat leanings, Sheldon started his entrepreneurial career at the young age of 12. After borrowing $200 from his uncle, he started selling newspapers. At age 16, he borrowed another $10,000 to start a vending machine business.
After dropping out of college, Adelson joined the army. Following this, he started a number of other businesses, gradually increasing his net worth until he became a millionaire in the 60s. However, he lost his entire fortune twice during this period and had to make it all back again.
Career: Adelson's entrepreneurial career began in earnest when he started the computer trade show COMDEX with a number of partners. After it had become one of the biggest computer trade shows in the world, he sold the business to SoftBank Corporation for $862 million, with Adelson personally taking home a sum of over $500 million.
Following this success, Adelson and his partners purchased the Sands Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Throughout the next few years, Sheldon created a number of convention centers, casinos, and other projects throughout the world. He eventually expanded into Macau, China – a well-known gambling city. Further projects came in Singapore and Cotai.
Casino Industry: Sheldon Adelson first became involved in the casino industry in 1989 when he purchased the Sands Hotel & Casino for $128 million. As of 2020, Adelson controls about 54 percent of the world's largest casino operator – Las Vegas Sands. The company controls casinos, resorts, and convention centers in the United States and Asia, and generated $11.4 billion in revenue during 2016.
In 2012, Adelson's wife exercised a warrant to purchase 87.5 million common shares at a total cost of $525 million. In 2005 and 2006, Sheldon sold about $3 billion worth of his stock, and the next year he gave his wife a cash gift of $1 billion. Adelson purchased and razed the legendary Sands hotel in Las Vegas, spending $1.5-billion to construct The Venetian, an all-suite Venice-themed resort hotel and casino, in its place. The creation of the Venetian is said to have revolutionized the Las Vegas hotel industry.
Losses in 2008: Sheldon Adelson's wealth was decimated by the global recession of 2008. As economic conditions worsened, shares for Las Vegas Sands Corp. went into freefall. During the first year, Adelson lost a total of $4 billion – the largest net loss suffered by any American billionaire during this period. By 2009, he had lost $28 billion dollars, leaving him with a net worth of just $2 billion. However, his business recovered relatively quickly. By 2011, he had increased his net worth to over $23 billion, becoming the 16th-richest man in the world.
Relationships: During the 1970s, Sheldon Adelson married his first wife, Sandra, and adopted her three children that she had from a previous marriage. In 1988, the couple divorced. Shortly after this split, Adelson met a doctor named Miriam Farbstein and married her in 1991.
Health Concerns: In 2001, Adelson was diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy, a disease that affects the peripheral nerves of the brain and spinal column. As a result, his ability to stand and walk for long periods of time declined. In 2019, he began receiving treatment for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of blood cancer that can cause enlarged lymph nodes, fever, and tiredness. Despite these health concerns, Adelson continues to act as CEO of the Las Vegas Sands company.
Real Estate: Starting in the mid-90s, Sheldon Adelson began establishing a considerable presence in the famed Malibu Colony neighborhood – one of the most exclusive areas in Malibu. Malibu Colony is a gated enclave with a private beach and features just 120 houses filled with affluent individuals and high-profile celebrities.
Adelson was initially content with owning just one property in the enclave, but in 2013 he started buying up numerous nearby homes – starting with a $13.3 million purchase of two homes belonging to famed soap opera creator Lee Phillip Bell. These purchases continued throughout the next few years, with Sheldon allegedly spending more than $90 million on various properties in the neighborhood. In 2020, reports suggested that he had acquired his ninth home in Malibu Colony for $16.9 million.
Sheldon Adelson also maintains a considerable real estate presence in Las Vegas. Although he seems obsessed with properties in Malibu, his main place of residence is actually a shockingly-large 44,000-square-foot home in Las Vegas. The property takes up three lots and has its own private water park in the backyard. It is also allegedly the largest private residence in all of Clark County, Nevada.
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