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Sheldon Adelson

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Sheldon Adelson
Adelson at a Hong Kong press conference in June 2010
Born
Sheldon Gary Adelson

(1933-08-04) August 4, 1933 (age 90)
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Alma materCity College of New York (withdrew)
Occupation(s)Chairman and CEO of the Las Vegas Sands
Known forCasino and hotel magnate
SpouseMiriam Ochsorn
Children5

Sheldon Gary Adelson (born August 4, 1933) is an American business magnate. He is the chairman and chief executive officer of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation, the parent company of Venetian Macao Limited which operates The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino and the Sands Expo and Convention Center. He also owns the Israeli daily newspaper Israel HaYom. Adelson's initial public offering of Las Vegas Sands occurred in December 2004. He is listed in the Forbes 400 as the eighth wealthiest American.[1] His personal wealth is estimated to be $24.9 billion as of March 2012.[1]

Early life and education

Adelson was born and grew up in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts,[2] the son of Ukrainian Jewish immigrants.[3] He worked as a mortgage broker, investment adviser and financial consultant. He started a business selling toiletry kits, and in the 1960s he started a charter tours business.[2] Adelson went to college at the City College of New York, but dropped out.

Business career

COMDEX

The original source of Adelson's wealth and current investments was the computer trade show COMDEX, which he and his partners developed for the computer industry; the first show was in 1979. It was the premier computer trade show through much of the 1980s and 1990s.[2]

In 1995, Adelson and his partners sold the Interface Group Show Division, including the COMDEX shows, to SoftBank Corporation of Japan for $862 million; Adelson's share was over $500 million.[2]

Sands Casino

Las Vegas, Nevada

In 1988, Adelson and his partners purchased the Sands Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, the former hangout of Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack, in order to bring Las Vegas to a new source of business from the exhibition industry. The following year, Adelson and his partners constructed the Sands Expo and Convention Center, then the only privately owned and operated convention center in the United States.

In 1991, while honeymooning in Venice with his second wife, Miriam, Adelson found the inspiration for a mega-resort hotel. He razed the Sands and spent $1.5 billion to construct The Venetian, a Venice-themed resort hotel and casino. In 2003, The Venetian added the 1,013-suite Venezia tower - giving the hotel 4,049 suites; 18 leading-chef restaurants; and a shopping mall with canals, gondolas and singing gondoliers.

In August 2007, Adelson opened the $2.4 billion Venetian Macao Resort Hotel on Cotai and announced that he planned to create a massive, concentrated resort area he called the Cotai Strip, after its Las Vegas counterpart. Adelson said that he planned to open more hotels under brands such as Four Seasons, Sheraton and St. Regis. His Las Vegas Sands planned to invest $12 billion and build 20,000 hotel rooms on the Cotai Strip by 2010.[4]

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

In the late 2000s, Adelson and the company decided to build a casino resort in the small city of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. It is one of five stand-alone casinos that was awarded a slots license by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board in 2006. The casino opened May 22, 2009. Table games began operation on July 18, 2010. The hotel opened May 27, 2011.

Adelson said "If we have the opportunity to build an integrated resort, we're going to do it. We think it will attract the customers and the tax revenue to the state of Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley and the cities that are in it."[5]

However in 2010, during the late-2000s global recession, Adelson told the Wall Street Journal "If it were today, we probably wouldn't have started it."[6]

Macau, China

Adelson spearheaded a major project to bring the Sands name to Macau, the Chinese gambling city that had been a Portuguese colony until December 1999. The one million-square-foot Sands Macao became the People's Republic of China's first Las Vegas-style casino when it opened in May 2004. Adelson made back his initial $265 million investment in one year and, because he owns 69% of the stock, he increased his wealth when he took the stock public in December 2004. Since the opening of the Sands Macao, Adelson's personal wealth has multiplied more than fourteen times.[7] Adelson's company is reportedly under federal investigation over alleged bribery related to the project.[8]

Marina Bay, Singapore

In May 2006, Adelson's Las Vegas Sands was awarded a hotly contested license to construct a casino resort in Singapore's Marina Bay. The new casino, Marina Bay Sands, opened in 2010 at a rumored cost of $5.5 billion. It will include a shopping mall, convention center, and 2,500 luxury hotel rooms.

Israeli press

In 2007, Adelson made an unsuccessful bid to purchase the Israeli newspaper Maariv. When this failed, he proceeded with parallel plans to publish a free daily newspaper to compete with Israeli, a newspaper he had co-founded in 2006 but had left.[9] The first edition of the new newspaper, Israel HaYom, was published on July 30, 2007.

According to Target Group Index (TGI) survey published in July 2011, Israel HaYom, which unlike all other Israeli newspapers is distributed for free, became the number one daily newspaper (on weekdays) four years after its inception.[10] This survey found that Israel HaYom has a 39.3% weekday readership exposure, Yedioth Ahronoth 37%, Maariv 12.1%, and Haaretz 5.8%. The Yedioth Ahronoth weekend edition is still leading with 44.3% readership exposure, compared to 31% for the Israel HaYom weekend edition, 14.9% for Maariv, and 6.8% for Haaretz. This trend was already observed by a TGI survey in July 2010.[11]

In 2011, the Israeli press said that Adelson was unhappy with coverage of him on Israeli Channel 10, which alleged that Adelson had acquired a casino license in Las Vegas inappropriately through political connections.[12] The channel apologized after Adelson threatened a lawsuit. This in turn led to the resignation of the news chief, Reudor Benziman, the news editor, Ruti Yuval and the news anchor, Guy Zohar who objected to the apology.[13] After two months of deliberations, the Israeli Second Authority for Television and Radio ruled that although there were some flaws in the manner in which the apology had been conducted, the decision to apologize had been correct and appropriate.[12]

Politics

Ideology

Originally a Democrat, Adelson became a Republican as his wealth increased. "Why is it fair that I should be paying a higher percentage of taxes than anyone else?" he once asked. He began making major contributions to the Republican National Committee following clashes with labor unions at his Las Vegas properties.[7]

Adelson has heavily criticized the Obama administration saying “What scares me is the continuation of the socialist-style economy we’ve been experiencing for almost four years. That scares me because the redistribution of wealth is the path to more socialism, and to more of the government controlling people’s lives. What scares me is the lack of accountability that people would prefer to experience, just let the government take care of everything."[14]

The New Yorker article also quoted Shelley Berkley, a Nevada Democratic Party congresswoman who had worked for Adelson in the nineties as vice-president of legal and governmental affairs, who said Adelson told her that "old Democrats were with the union and he wanted to break the back of the union, consequently he had to break the back of the Democrats". The Boston Globe also noted that Adelson has "waged some bitter anti-union battles in Las Vegas."[7][15] Congresswoman Berkley also claimed in the New Yorker article that Adelson "seeks to dominate politics and public policy through the raw power of money".

DeLay controversy

During the Suen trial Bill Weidner, the president of Adelson's Las Vegas Sands company, testified about a telephone conversation between Adelson and his friend then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R) about a bill proposed by Representative Tom Lantos (D) that would have prevented the U.S. Olympic Committee from voting in favor of the Chinese bid to host the 2008 Summer Olympics. A few hours later, DeLay called back and told Adelson he could tell the mayor of Beijing "this bill will never see the light of day". The resolution did not pass. Adelson testified in court that the demise of the resolution "...resulted from the press of other legislation, (not from) a deliberate move by DeLay to help his benefactor.[7]

Honors

Adelson and his wife, Miriam Adelson, were presented with the Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars of the Smithsonian Institution on March 25, 2008.[16]

Adelson received the Chairman's Award from the Nevada Policy Research Institute, a think tank in Las Vegas, for his efforts to advance free market principles in Nevada.[17]

Additionally, President George W. Bush appointed the Adelsons to serve on the Honorary Delegation to accompany him to Jerusalem for the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the State of Israel in May 2008.[18]

Donations

In February 2012, Adelson told Forbes Magazine that he's “against very wealthy ­people attempting to or influencing elections. But as long as it’s doable I’m going to do it. Because I know that guys like Soros have been doing it for years, if not decades. And they stay below the radar by creating a network of corporations to funnel their money. I have my own philosophy and I’m not ashamed of it. I gave the money because there is no other legal way to do it. I don’t want to go through ten different corporations to hide my name. I’m proud of what I do and I’m not looking to escape recognition.”[14]

2004

In 2005, Adelson and his wife each contributed $250,000 to the second inauguration of George W. Bush.[19][20][21]

2008

Adelson was the principal financial backer of Freedom's Watch, a now defunct political advocacy group founded to counter the influence of George Soros and Democratic-leaning lobby groups such as MoveOn.org. "Almost all" of the $30 million Freedom's Watch spent on the 2008 elections came from Adelson.[22]

2010

In 2010, Adelson donated $1 million to American Solutions for Winning the Future, a political action committee (PAC) supporting Republican former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.[23] In December 2011, during Gingrich's bid for the U.S. presidency, Adelson spoke favorably of controversial remarks Gingrich had made about Palestinians, saying "read the history of those who call themselves Palestinians, and you will hear why Gingrich said recently that the Palestinians are an invented people."[24]

U.S. Senate candidates he donated to:[25]

Congressional candidates:

2012

For the 2012 United States presidential election, Adelson has said he will "fully support" the Republican nominee.[26] On January 7, 2012, Adelson bolstered Gingrich's then faltering campaign with a $5 million donation to the pro-Gingrich super PAC Winning Our Future.[27] By the next day, the PAC had reserved more than $3.4 million in advertising time in South Carolina, which included production and distribution of a half-hour movie that portrayed Gingrich's political rival Mitt Romney as a "predatory corporate raider".[28] On January 23, Adelson's wife, Miriam, contributed an additional $5 million to the same organization with instructions to use it to advance a "pro-Newt message".[29][30] Adelson told Forbes that he was willing to donate as much as $100 million to Gingrich. [31]

In the 2012 election cycle, he has also donated $2.5 million to the right-leaning Super Pac, Congressional Leadership Fund.[32] He also donated over $60,000 to the Republican National Committee. Politicians he has donated to since January 2011 include U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), U.S. House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), U.S. Senator Dean Heller (R-NV), U.S. Congressman Mark Amodei (R-NV), U.S. Congressman Joe Heck (R-NV), and former Florida House Speaker Adam Hasner.[33]

On June 12, 2012, Adelson donated $10 million tor the pro-Romney PAC Restore Our Future.[34] In July, Adelson confirmed his support for Romney by attending a Romney fundraiser held in Jerusalem where he said he will donate millions to the Romney campaign.[35]

Noting the media scrutiny his political donations have received, Adelson has asked why the political contributions of labor unions have not received comparable attention, noting that unions spend worker-provided money while his donations come out of his own pocket and are smaller.[36]

Philanthropy

Adelson donated over $25 million to the The Adelson Educational Campus in Las Vegas to build a high school.[37][38] In 2006 Adelson contributed $25 million to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority.[39]

Since 2007, the Adelson Family Foundation has made contributions totalling $100 million to Birthright Israel, which finances Jewish youth trips to Israel.[40]

Adelson also has funded the Boston based Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Medical Research Foundation. AMRF is a private foundation.[41] This foundation initiated the Adelson Program in Neural Repair and Rehabilitation (APNRR) with $7.5 million donated to collaborating researchers at 10 universities.[42]

Personal life

Left to right: Sheldon and Miriam Adelson, and Mel and Betty Sembler

Sheldon Adelson was born in Boston to a poor Jewish family. His Lithuanian-born father was a taxi driver and an ad salesman. From the 1970s Adelson lived in Massachusetts with his wife, Sandra, and their three adopted children, Mitchell, Gary and Shelley. They divorced in 1988. Mitchell died of a drug overdose in 2005.[43]

Sheldon met his current wife Miriam Ochsorn on a blind date the following year and married in 1991. Miriam is an Israeli physician specializing in drug abuse treatment.[43]

2008 Litigation

A June 2008 profile in The New Yorker detailed several controversies involving Adelson. In 2008 Richard Suen, a Hong Kong businessman who had helped Adelson make connections with top Chinese officials in order to obtain the Macao license, took Adelson to court in Las Vegas alleging he had reneged on his agreement to allow Suen to profit from the venture. Suen won a $43.8 million judgement; in November 2010, the Nevada Supreme Court overturned the judgment and returned the case to the lower court for further consideration.[44] Adelson faces another trial over claims by three alleged "middlemen" in the deal who are suing for at least $450 million.[7]

Adelson successfully sued the Daily Mail of London for libel in 2008. The newspaper had accused him of pursuing "despicable business practices" and having "habitually and corruptly bought political favour". Adelson won the libel case, which was described as "a grave slur on Mr Adelson's personal integrity and business reputation", and he won a judgment of approximately £4 million. Adelson said he would donate the damages to the Royal Marsden cancer hospital in London.[45]

Wealth

At one point, Adelson's estimated wealth was $26.5 billion, making him the third richest person in the United States according to Forbes for 2007.[46] and $26 billion for 2008.[47] In 2008, the share prices of the Las Vegas Sands Corp. plunged. And in November, 2008, Las Vegas Sands Corp. announced that it might default on bonds that it had outstanding, signaling the potential bankruptcy of the concern.[48] Adelson lost $4 billion in 2008, more than any other American billionaire.[49][50] His net worth declined from approximately $30 billion to $2 billion, or 93%.[51] He told ABC News “So I lost $25 billion. I started out with zero...(there is) no such thing as fear, not to an entrepreneur. Concern, yes. Fear, no.”[52]

In Forbes 2009 world billionaires list, his ranking dropped to #178 with a net worth of $3.4 billion,[53] but in 2011 he was ranked as the world's 16th richest man with a net worth of $23.3 billion.[54]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Profile of Sheldon Gary Adelson". Forbes.com. Forbes. September 21, 2011. Retrieved 2012-01-27.
  2. ^ a b c d Rivlin, Gary (January 17, 2008), "When 3rd Place on the Rich List Just Isn't Enough", New York Times
  3. ^ "Sheldon G. Adelson". Biographies. Republican Jewish Coalition. Retrieved January 21, 2012.
  4. ^ "China opens world's largest casino". CNN. August 28, 2007.
  5. ^ http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/today/index.ssf/2009/06/sands_casino_resort_bethlehem_1.html
  6. ^ http://www.hotel-online.com/News/PR2010_2nd/Apr10_SandsCEO.html
  7. ^ a b c d e Bruck, Connie (June 2008), "The Brass Ring: A multibillionaire's relentless quest for global influence", New Yorker
  8. ^ Ross, Brian; Mosk, Matthew; Galli, Cindy; Schwartz, Rhonda (January 27, 2012). "Bribes, Chinese Mob Ties Alleged at Casino of Gingrich Money Man". ABC News. Retrieved January 29, 2012.
  9. ^ "American Billionaire Launching Free Israeli Daily". Arutz Sheva. July 12, 2007. Retrieved July 12, 2007.
  10. ^ "TGI Survey states: Israel HaYom in first place among daily newspapers!". Israel HaYom
  11. ^ "TGI Survey: Israel HaYom is getting stronger by 30%, and surpasses Yedioth". Walla!. July 28, 2010.
  12. ^ a b Cashman, Greer Fay (November 7, 2011). "Second Authority backs Channel 10's apology to Adelson". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2012-01-27.
  13. ^ "Israeli News Chief Quits Over Apology To Mogul". Vos Iz Neias?. September 8, 2011. Retrieved 2012-01-27.
  14. ^ a b http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenbertoni/2012/02/21/billionaire-sheldon-adelson-says-he-might-give-100m-to-newt-gingrich-or-other-republican/
  15. ^ Beam, Alex (May 31, 2008). "Adelson bets big on right-wing politics". The Boston Globe.
  16. ^ "Sheldon G. Adelson and Dr. Miriam Adelson Receive Prestigious Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship" (Press release). Las Vegas Sands Corp. March 26, 2008. Retrieved January 27, 2012.
  17. ^ NPRI Past Anniversary Dinners page
  18. ^ Lake, Eli (May 13, 2008). "Bush Visit May Boost Olmer". New York Sun. Retrieved August 2010. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  19. ^ Drinkard, Jim (January 17, 2005). "Donors get good seats, great access this week". USA Today. Retrieved May 25, 2008.
  20. ^ "Financing the inauguration". USA Today. January 16, 2005. Retrieved May 25, 2008.
  21. ^ "Some question inaugural's multi-million price tag". USA Today. January 14, 2005. Retrieved May 25, 2008.
  22. ^ Luo, Michael (April 12, 2008). "Great Expectations for a Conservative Group Seem All but Dashed". The New York Times.
  23. ^ "Sheldon Adelson Contributions to 527 Organizations, 2010 cycle". opensecrets.org.
  24. ^ Blumenfeld, Revital (December 26, 2011). "Sheldon Adelson to Birthright group: Gingrich is right to call Palestinians 'invented people'"". Haaretz. Retrieved 2012-01-28.
  25. ^ http://www.campaignmoney.com/political/contributions/sheldon-adelson.asp?cycle=10
  26. ^ Luce, Edward (February 19, 2012). "Obama nears his nuclear moment". The Financial Times. Retrieved February 21, 2012.
  27. ^ Shear, Michael D.; Confessore, Nicholas (January 7, 2012). "As Primary Looms in N.H., Donor Gives Lift to Gingrich". The New York Times.
  28. ^ Gabriel, Trip; Confessore, Nicholas (January 8, 2012)). "PAC Ads to Attack Romney as Predatory Capitalist". The New York Times. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  29. ^ McFadden, Cynthia; Arons, Melinda (January 24, 2012). "Billionaire Expects 'Nothing' For His Millions to Gingrich Super PAC, Source Says". ABC News. Retrieved 2012-01-28.
  30. ^ Confessore, Nicholas (January 23, 2012). "'Super PAC' for Gingrich to Get $5 Million Infusion". The New York Times.
  31. ^ http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2012/02/21/adelson-says-he-could-give-100-million-more-to-help-gingrich/
  32. ^ http://www.congressionalleadershipfund.org/about/
  33. ^ http://www.opensecrets.org/usearch/index.php?q=Sheldon+Adelson&searchButt_clean.x=6&searchButt_clean.y=40&cx=010677907462955562473%3Anlldkv0jvam&cof=FORID%3A11
  34. ^ Gold, Matea (June 13, 2012). "Casino magnate Sheldon Adelson gives $10 million to pro-Romney PAC". The Seattle Times.
  35. ^ Hunt, Kasie (July 30, 2012). "Romney comments at fundraiser outrage Palestinians". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Associated Press.
  36. ^ Hamburger, Tom (January 23, 2012). "Pro-Gingrich 'super PAC' gets another major cash infusion". Los Angeles Times.
  37. ^ Tugend, Tom (December 14, 2006). "Vegas billionaire Sheldon Adelson expected to set new charity donation record". The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. Retrieved January 27, 2012.
  38. ^ Livingston, Ashley (October 2, 2008). "Jewish school celebrates new home". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved January 27, 2012.
  39. ^ "The 2006 Slate 60: Pledges". Slate. February 15, 2007. Archived from the original on July 12, 2010. Retrieved January 28, 2012.
  40. ^ Benari, Elad (January 12, 2011). "Adelson Foundation Gives Taglit An Extra $5 Million Boost". Arutz Sheva. Retrieved December 5, 2011.
  41. ^ "About AMRF: Philosophy and Vision", Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Medical Research Foundation. Retrieved January 28, 2012.
  42. ^ "Friends: Gifts". UCLA Medicine. Winter 2007.
  43. ^ a b Zohar, Amir (March 13, 2008). "The Adelson method". Haaretz.
  44. ^ Ryan, Cy (November 18, 2010). "Court overturns $43.8 million judgment against Las Vegas Sands". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved January 27, 2012.
  45. ^ "Sheldon Adelson wins millions in damages from British newspaper". Haaretz. Reuters. March 20, 2008.
  46. ^ "#6 Sheldon Adelson". The World's Billionaires. Forbes. March 8, 2007. Retrieved July 17, 2012.
  47. ^ "#12 Sheldon Adelson". The World's Billionaires. Forbes. March 5, 2008. Retrieved July 17, 2012.
  48. ^ Jinks, Beth (November 6, 2008). "Las Vegas Sands Plunges on Default, Bankruptcy Risk". Bloomberg. Retrieved August 2010. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  49. ^ "Now who's the richest? The Forbes 400 list is recalculated to reflect financial meltdown". Bloomberg News. October 10, 2008.
  50. ^ Sheldon Adelson daylife.com
  51. ^ http://blogs.wsj.com/wealth/2008/11/12/what-is-it-like-to-lose-100-million-a-day/
  52. ^ http://blogs.wsj.com/wealth/2010/11/22/vegas-tycoon-so-i-lost-25-billion/
  53. ^ "The World's Billionaires 2009". Forbes. March 11, 2009.
  54. ^ "Sheldon Adelson". Forbes. September 2011. Retrieved January 25, 2012.

See also

External links

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