Las Vegas Sands Founder Sheldon Adelson Dies Aged 87

January 12, 2021

Sheldon Adelson, the founder, chairman, and CEO of Las Vegas Sands, died late on Monday, January 11 following complications related to his cancer treatment, his company said. He was 87.

Adelson took a leave of absence from Sands last week to resume treatment for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, which his aides first disclosed in late February 2019.

He rose from a modest childhood in Boston to become one of the world's richest men as founder and CEO of Las Vegas Sands Corp. He was the first employee of a compant which has since grown to 50,000 workers.

Adelson’s net worth was most recently estimated by Forbes at $35.9 billion, 19th on the Forbes 400. Las Vegas Sands was named for the iconic Sands Casino in Las Vegas.

Adelson and several business partners acquired the Rat Pack-era Las Vegas Strip casino for $110 million in 1989. He grew Las Vegas Sands into a multi-billion casino corporation that currently owns integrated resort properties and convention facilities on the Las Vegas Strip, Macau, and Singapore with a market capitalization of almost $45 billion.

"His impact on the industry will be everlasting," the company said. 

In a statement, the American Gaming Association called Adelson's passing "a tremendous loss to the gaming community."

The AGA's president and CEO Bill Miller continued: "Mr. Adelson, founder and chairman of Las Vegas Sands, was a true visionary and pioneer of modern casino gaming for more than three decades. From Las Vegas and Pennsylvania to Macao and Singapore, his mark is indelible.

"I had the pleasure of knowing Mr. Adelson for more than 15 years, long before joining the American Gaming Association (AGA). It is his leadership and generosity that stand out the most to me. There’s no greater example of this than serving his community and prioritizing his employees’ well-being during the last year as our country and industry grappled with the global pandemic."