Dr. Miriam Adelson, the largest shareholder of Las Vegas Sands with a 46% stake in the Macau casino empire, has pledged to spend “whatever it takes” to reelect her friend Donald Trump. Dr. Miriam Adelson and former President Donald Trump embraced during a campaign rally at his Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey on Thursday, August 15, 2024. Adelson, the Las Vegas Sands owner, is prepared to spend over $100 million to fund Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign.
Adelson and her late husband, Sands founder Sheldon Adelson, were Trump’s biggest supporters since the former casino tycoon announced his 2016 presidential run. The Adelson family poured more than $200 million into Trump’s 2016 run and unsuccessful 2020 reelection bid.
Adelson pledged this week to utilize her substantial fortune, estimated by Forbes to be over $28 billion, to bankroll Trump for a third consecutive presidential election cycle. At a campaign event at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., Adelson reportedly hinted at a blank check policy for the former president, assuring that his campaign would receive whatever it requires to get him back in the White House.
Political odds currently list Trump as a slight underdog. Vice President Kamala Harris’ odds on political wagering exchange Polymarket give her an implied chance of 51% to Trump’s 47%. Overseas bookmakers have Harris at -125, translating to implied odds of 55.6%, compared to Trump’s even money (+100 or 50%).
Las Vegas Sands no longer has domestic casino holdings after selling The Venetian and Palazzo resorts on the Las Vegas Strip in early 2022 for $6.25 billion. The company now focuses on its several casino resorts in China’s Macau and is lobbying heavily for the acceptance of casino resorts in Texas.
Adelson and her son-in-law, Patrick Dumont, Sands’ president and chief operating officer, acquired a controlling stake in the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks from Mark Cuban last year. Despite this, Adelson’s fortune took a hit over the last 12 months, as Sands’ stock price plummeted almost 25%.
Adelson will once again primarily fund Trump through her super political action committee (PAC), Preserve America. She gave the PAC $5 million in May to jumpstart its Trump campaign efforts, promising that the committee’s funds would grow significantly in the coming weeks.
According to Andy Abboud, the Adelsons’ longtime political aide, family advisor, and spokesperson, Preserve America plans to spend upwards of $100 million to ensure Harris doesn’t become the 47th president. “We’re going to do whatever it takes for him to win,” Abboud confirmed in an interview with CNBC on Friday. “In her mind, and in the minds of those who run Preserve America], we are going to do whatever it takes for him to win.”
In addition to her contributions to Preserve America, Adelson gave $844,600 to the Trump 47 Committee in May. She has also donated $10,000 each to 38 committees and PACs dedicated to putting GOP governors and congresspeople into office this November.
Adelson encourages Jewish voters to support Trump, whom she considers a staunch ally of Israel. Trump relocated the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem during his presidency, a move of significant importance to the Adelsons, who attended the embassy’s opening on May 14, 2018, sitting in the front row.
“President Trump deserves the full support of the entire Jewish people,” said Adelson, who received the Medal of Freedom from Trump in 2018 for her philanthropic work in medical research, Holocaust memorialization, and strengthening the American Jewish community. “Anyone who cares about Israel’s security and prosperity, this must be our pledge to him — this must be our promise to him — that the White House will be his again come January.”
Vice President Kamala Harris reportedly considered Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) as her running mate but was rumored to be concerned that his Jewish heritage could alienate the Democrats’ Palestinian supporters.
