Sheldon Adelson dies at 87, to be buried in Israel

The self-made casino magnate, who delivered papers in Boston at the age of 12, Sheldon Adelson was valued by Forbes as worth more than $13bn in 2017. He passed away on Tuesday at his home in Las Vegas due to complications related to the treatment of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He was 87. A passionate Zionist and generous contributor to the US Republican Party, Adelson donated hugely to a host of causes. He is estimated to have sent $200 million per year to Yad Vashem, Birthright, IDC Herzliya, and numerous other causes, such as fighting antisemitism om US colleges campuses. Some of his contributions have never been made public. He also founded and owned Israel’s largest circulation free paper Yisrael Hayom

A generous US Republican supporter, in 2017, Adelson gave $5 million to Donald Trump’s inaugural committee, said to be the largest donation in US history.

Adelson was close to Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netnyahu. Together with his Israeli wife Miriam, who specializes in treating drug abuse, Adelson in 2007 established the Adelson Family Foundation as a branch of the Adelson Foundation specializing in supporting medical causes.

A funeral is set to be held in Israel, and a memorial service in Las Vegas will be announced at a later date.