From Healing to High Stakes: The Rise of Miriam Adelson

In the world of global wealth and influence, the story of Dr Miriam Adelson stands out. She is an Israeli-American physician, specialising in addiction, turned into one of the most influential women in the modern world. As of 2025, her net worth is estimated between $34–40 billion, depending on the source, placing her among the richest women globally. Born in Tel Aviv in 1945 to Holocaust survivors from Poland, she has been active in medical research, philanthropy, and public affairs for decades.
She is known not only for inheriting her late husband Sheldon Adelson’s business interests but also for helping build and expand their shared enterprises. Today, she is the majority owner of Las Vegas Sands, the publisher of Israel Hayom, and the majority stakeholder in the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks. Her work reflects a combination of medical dedication and active involvement in various business enterprises.

The Early Years

Miriam Adelson was born in Tel Aviv in 1945, just after World War II, to a middle-class family. Her parents had left Poland before the Holocaust and started a new life in Haifa. Her mother lost most of her family in the genocide, a history that stayed with Miriam throughout her life.

She grew up attending the Hebrew Reali School and later studied Microbiology and Genetics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. After serving as a medical officer in the IDF, she continued her studies at Tel Aviv University’s medical school, graduating near the top of her class.

Miriam started her medical career as a chief intern in the emergency department at Rokach (Hadassah) Hospital in Tel Aviv, where she became drawn to the challenges of addiction treatment. In 1986, she moved to New York to work at Rockefeller University, training under Dr Mary Jeanne Kreek, one of the key figures behind methadone therapy. This move marked the beginning of her long professional focus on addiction medicine.

Meeting Sheldon Adelson

In 1988, while working at Rockefeller University, she met Sheldon Adelson. He was a successful businessman in his 50s who made his fortune through COMDEX and then moved into the world of Las Vegas casinos. Miriam, in her early 40s and raising two daughters from her first marriage, felt an immediate connection with him. They shared the same values, particularly when it came to Judaism and community work.

According to various biographical accounts, the couple visited the Lubavitcher Rebbe for blessings shortly before their wedding. During the visit, Miriam asked for a blessing to have a child, and the Rebbe encouraged her to hope for more than one. Sheldon, then in his 60s and without biological children, was surprised but touched by the exchange.

In the years that followed, Miriam gave birth to two sons, Adam and Matan. Together with Sheldon’s three adopted children, Shelley, Gary, and the late Mitchell, they formed a large blended family.

Building a Casino Empire

The Adelson fortune grew from Sheldon Adelson’s ability to spot opportunities in the casino world, with Miriam working closely beside him. In 1988, he bought the Sands Hotel and Casino for $110 million, convinced it could be turned into something much bigger.

During their honeymoon in Venice in 1991, Sheldon got the idea for a new resort inspired by the city. He tore down the old Sands and built The Venetian, a $1.5 billion project that opened in 1999 and changed the direction of the company.

The biggest growth came from Asia. Resorts in Macau and Singapore soon generated most of the company’s revenue. Sheldon also sold his COMDEX trade show business in 1995, earning more than $500 million and using much of it to expand further into casinos.

By the time he died in 2021, Las Vegas Sands had become a major force in global gaming. Miriam inherited nearly half the company and took on a leadership role. The company sold major Las Vegas properties as part of a strategy to strengthen its Asia-focused business operations

Las Vegas Sands has consistently generated multi-billion-dollar annual revenues, supported largely by its Asian markets. Over the years, the Adelson family has received billions of dollars in dividends from the company, showing the size of the business they have built.

Diversification and Influence

Miriam didn’t limit her work to casinos. She helped expand the family’s interests into media and sports. In 2018, she became the publisher of Israel Hayom, the newspaper she and Sheldon had launched years earlier. The family also owns the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the largest paper in Nevada.

In December 2023, Miriam made a major move by buying a majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks from Mark Cuban, valuing the team at $3.5 billion. She sold about $2 billion of her Las Vegas Sands shares to help finance the deal. By the next year, the team’s value had already risen to around $4.46 billion.

The purchase placed Miriam among the small number of women who own major US sports teams. It also signalled her entry into the professional sports world, where franchise values have been consistently rising. Her wealth today comes not only from what she inherited but also from the strategic decisions she has made to broaden and strengthen her investments.

Medical Legacy and Philanthropic Impact

Even with her growing responsibilities in business, Miriam stayed connected to her original work in medicine. In 1993, she and Sheldon opened the first Adelson Clinic in Israel to help people struggling with addiction. Seven years later, they opened another clinic in Las Vegas, which has treated thousands of patients over the years. Miriam has written dozens of scientific papers on addiction and continues to take part in research at Rockefeller University.

The Adelson Foundation, launched in 2007, has become one of the largest private funders of Jewish and Israeli causes, giving out around $200 million each year. One of its biggest early commitments was to Birthright Israel, and the family has since donated more than $127 million to the program. They also gave $25 million to Yad Vashem to help build a museum honouring Holocaust victims, including Miriam’s own relatives.

Their philanthropy also includes funding the Adelson Educational Campus in Las Vegas and supporting a medical school at Ariel University, which opened in 2019. Miriam serves on the board of trustees at the University of Southern California and supports major research efforts through the Adelson Medical Research Foundation.

Political Influence and Advocacy

Miriam Adelson has become one of the most influential political donors in the United States. A 2024 analysis by New York Magazine found that during her marriage, she made 717 donations totalling about $284 million, slightly more than Sheldon. She began donating in the early 1990s, first to Democrats and later to Republicans.

She has been a major supporter of Donald Trump since 2016, contributing to his campaigns and political efforts. In the 2024 election, she gave about $106 million to his re-election bid. Her donations often focus on US-Israel relations and related policies. In 2018, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

The Adelsons have also contributed heavily in key election years, including 2012, 2016, and 2018. Through her political giving, Miriam has become an influential figure in conservative politics and in discussions about US-Israel policy.

Want to learn more about Miriam Adelson? Explore her work through Las Vegas Sands and her media ventures like Israel Hayom and the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Since Miriam maintains a very private profile, these official platforms are the best way to follow her influence and the legacy she continues to shape worldwide.

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