Miriam Adelson () is an Israeli-American physician, business woman, philanthropist, and conservative political donor. She was married to

Sheldon Adelson Sheldon Gary Adelson (August 4, 1933 – January 11, 2021) was an American businessman, investor, and political donor. He was the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Las Vegas Sands Corporation, which founded the Marina Bay Sa ...

until his death in 2021. , estimates place her wealth at US$29.5 billion. , she was the 58th richest person in the world. Notable holdings include the

Las Vegas Sands Las Vegas Sands Corp. is an American casino and resort company with corporate headquarters in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. It was founded by Sheldon Adelson, Sheldon G. Adelson and his partners out of the Sands Hotel and Casino on the Las ...

and the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...

. She is the current publisher of ''

Israel Hayom ''Israel Hayom'' () is an Israeli Hebrew-language free daily newspaper. Distributed for free around Israel, it is the country's most widely distributed newspaper. Owned by the family of the late Sheldon Adelson, the casino mogul and politica ...

'' and, with her family, owns the ''

Las Vegas Review-Journal The ''Las Vegas Review-Journal'' is a daily subscription newspaper published in Las Vegas, Nevada, since 1909. It is the largest circulating daily newspaper in Nevada and one of two daily newspapers in the Las Vegas area. The ''Review-Journal' ...

''. Since the 2010s, Adelson has been one of the Republican Party's largest individual donors, and since 2016 she has been one of the most prominent financial supporters of

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

. She and her husband provided the largest donation to his 2016 campaign, his presidential inauguration, his defense fund against the Mueller investigation into Russian interference, and the 2020 campaign. She was the third largest donor to Trump's 2024 election bid, donating $106 million. Adelson has consistently advocated for the US government to adopt pro-Israel policies, including supporting Israel's annexation of the

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

. Trump awarded her the

Presidential Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, alongside the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by decision of the president of the United States to "any person recommended to the President ...

in 2018.

Biography

Adelson was born Miriam Farbstein in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine. After ...

, in 1945 to parents who fled Poland before the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

. Her father was a prominent member of

Mapam File:Pre-State_Zionist_Workers'_Parties_chart.png, chart of zionist workers parties, 360px, right rect 167 83 445 250 Hapoel Hatzair rect 450 88 717 265 The non-partisans (pre-state Zionist political movement), Non Partisans rect 721 86 995 243 ...

, a left-wing political party in Israel. In the 1950s, her family settled in

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

, where Adelson's father owned and operated several movie theaters. She attended the

Hebrew Reali School The Hebrew Reali School of Haifa (), located in Haifa, Israel, is one of the country's oldest private schools. The couple was divorced by 1986.

Medical career

After earning a Bachelor of Science in

microbiology Microbiology () is the branches of science, scientific study of microorganisms, those being of unicellular organism, unicellular (single-celled), multicellular organism, multicellular (consisting of complex cells), or non-cellular life, acellula ...

and

genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinians, Augustinian ...

from the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. ...

, she earned a medical degree, graduating ''

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

'' from Tel Aviv University Faculty of Medicine. She served mandatory army service as a medical officer at

Ness Ziona Ness Ziona (, ''Nes Tziyona'') is a city in Central District (Israel), Central District, Israel. In it had a population of , and its jurisdiction was 15,579 dunams (). Identification Lying within Ness Ziona's city bounds is the ruin of the Arab ...

. She eventually became the chief internist in an emergency room at Tel Aviv's Rokach (Hadassah) Hospital. She went to

Rockefeller University The Rockefeller University is a Private university, private Medical research, biomedical Research university, research and graduate-only university in New York City, New York. It focuses primarily on the biological and medical sciences and pro ...

in 1986 as an associate physician specializing in

drug addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to use a drug or engage in a behavior that produces natural reward, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use can ...

. There, she was mentored by, and subsequently collaborated for two decades with, Mary Jeanne Kreek, who was known for the development of

methadone Methadone, sold under the brand names Dolophine and Methadose among others, is a synthetic opioid used medically to treat chronic pain and opioid use disorder. Prescribed for daily use, the medicine relieves cravings and opioid withdrawal sym ...

therapy for

heroin addiction Opioid use disorder (OUD) is a substance use disorder characterized by cravings for opioids, continued use despite physical and/or psychological deterioration, increased tolerance with use, and withdrawal symptoms after discontinuing opioids. ...

. She has published numerous scientific papers on the topic of drug addiction during her career and has been a guest investigator at Rockefeller University.

Marriage to Sheldon Adelson and later career

Mirriam met businessman

on a blind date in 1989; they married in 1991. Bruck, Connie,
"The Brass Ring — A Multibillionaire's Relentless Quest for Global Influence"
, ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'', June 30, 2008; retrieved August 17, 2012. Together, they had two sons, Adam Adelson and Matan Adelson. In 1993, Miriam and Sheldon opened the first branch of the Adelson Clinic, a substance abuse clinic, in Israel. They opened a second location in Las Vegas in 2000. The clinics specialize in the use of medically assisted detox techniques, such as methodone. In 2018, Adelson was named the publisher of ''

'', the most widely read newspaper in Israel, a position she still holds. After Sheldon Adelson died in 2021, she became the owner of casino company

, which he had founded. She remains the majority owner of Las Vegas Sands, which she runs along with her family.

Philanthropy

Adelson operates the Adelson Foundations. The foundation is divided into two branches: the Adelson Family Foundation, which was established in 2007, and the Adelson Medical Research Foundation. The former works to strengthen the

State of Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

and the

Jewish people Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

, while the latter focuses on healthcare. The Adelson Foundation gives $200 million annually to Jewish and Israeli causes, the largest by far of any existing private foundation with that aim. She is a voting member on the board of trustees at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

, and was a financial backer of

Ariel University Ariel University (), previously a public college known as the Ariel University Center of Samaria, is an Israeli university located in the urban Israeli settlement of Ariel in the West Bank. The college preceding the establishment of Ariel Unive ...

's controversial medical school which opened in the West Bank in 2019.

Political activities in the United States

In May 2024, ''New York'' magazine stated that the press often misreported Miriam's political donations as having been made by Sheldon. The magazine tabulated that during their marriage, Sheldon made 848 campaign donations and Miriam made 717. Sheldon had a lifetime total donation figure of $273 million, while as of the publishing of their profile, Miriam had a total of $284 million. Miriam Adelson made her first substantive political donations shortly after her marriage to Sheldon, in 1991. She soon switched her support from Democratic candidates to Republicans. The Adelsons were notably early donors to

Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...

in his 1996 campaign for

Prime Minister of Israel The prime minister of Israel (, Hebrew abbreviations, Hebrew abbreviation: ; , ''Ra'īs al-Ḥukūma'') is the head of government and chief executive of the Israel, State of Israel. Israel is a parliamentary republic with a President of Isra ...

and also gave some money to the Second inauguration of George W. Bush in 2005. Following the 2010 ruling in '' Citizens United v. FEC'', Adelson dramatically increased the size of her political donations. She was the top female donor in the

2012 United States elections Elections were held in the United States on November 6, 2012. Democratic President Barack Obama won reelection to a second term and the Democrats gained seats in both chambers of Congress, retaining control of the Senate even though the Repub ...

, contributing as much as the next 15 female donors combined, a total of $46 million.

Support for Donald Trump

Since 2016, Adelson has been known for her support for

. She and her husband were the largest donors of Trump throughout his first presidency; they provided the largest donation to his 2016 campaign, his presidential inauguration, his defense fund against the Mueller investigation into Russian interference and the 2020 campaign.* * * * * * She has written that Trump "should enjoy sweeping support" among U.S. Jews and Israelis, and that Trump deserves a "Book of Trump" in the Bible due to his support for Israel. Adelson wrote that Trump represents "kinship, friendship, courage, the triumph of truth" and that "Israelis and proud Jews owe Donald Trump our gratitude." She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Donald Trump in 2018. In January 2019 the Adelsons contributed $500,000 to the Patriot Legal Expense Fund Trust, which was set up in 2018 to assist aides of President Trump under investigation by special counsel

Robert Mueller Robert Swan Mueller III (; born August 7, 1944) is an American lawyer who served as the sixth director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from 2001 to 2013. A graduate of Princeton University and New York University, Mueller served a ...

's probe into

Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections The Russian government conducted Foreign electoral intervention, foreign electoral interference in the 2016 United States elections with the goals of sabotaging the Hillary Clinton 2016 presidential campaign, presidential campaign of Hillar ...

. The contributions were the Trust's largest to date. She served as one of the finance vice-chairs for Trump's first inauguration. During the 2024 presidential primary, she initially declined to take a side early in the presidential primary as she was courted by

Ron DeSantis Ronald Dion DeSantis (; born September 14, 1978) is an American politician, attorney, and former United States Navy, naval officer serving as the 46th List of governors of Florida, governor of Florida since 2019. A member of the Republican Pa ...

and

Nikki Haley Nimarata Nikki Randhawa Haley (''née'' Randhawa; born January 20, 1972) is an American politician and diplomat who served as the 116th governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017 and as the 29th U.S. ambassador to the United Nations from Ja ...

.https://forward.com/fast-forward/698884/trump-miriam-adelson-michael-wolff/ She ultimately supported Trump in the

2024 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 5, 2024. The Republican Party (United States), Republican Party's Ticket (election), ticket—Donald Trump, who was the 45th president of ...

, contributing $106 million to Trump's re-election campaign, making her its third largest donor. During the 2024 campaign, Adelson sought support from Trump for Israel's annexation of the

. A spokesperson for Adelson denied allegations that her donations were made in exchange for support for this policy. Michael Wolff's 2025 book ''All or Nothing'' discussed the relationship between Trump and Adelson. In the book, it is claimed that Trump had two dinners with Adelson prior to receiving an initial donation in the 2024 election cycle, after which he described her as "boring" and long-winded and shared a hesitancy to take further meetings as he did not believe she was going to donate. The White House communications director denied the claims. Subsequently, the relationship faltered after the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the Republican Party in the United States. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal o ...

when Trump learned Adelson had hired staff known to be critical of him to operate her super PAC devised to benefit him. Reportedly further irritated by Isaac Perlmutter telling him Adelson was unreliable, Trump dictated a text message to Adelson claiming that she was his "enemy" for hiring unsupportive staffers.

Israeli politics

Adelson has said that her heart is in Israel and that she got "stuck" in America after meeting her husband. She is credited with influencing Sheldon Adelson's political views on Israel and inspiring him to donate larges sums of money to Zionist causes. Adelson is a financial supporter of the Zionist Organization of America, the

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem (; ) is Israel's official memorial institution to the victims of Holocaust, the Holocaust known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (). It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the ...

Holocaust museum and memorial in Jerusalem, and various U.S. groups that fundraise for the Israeli military. Adelson backed Trump's January 2021 pardon of

Aviem Sella Aviem Sella (; born January 7, 1946) is an Israeli businessman and former commander in the Israeli Air Force. In 1987, he was charged in absentia on three counts of espionage for recruiting Jonathan Pollard, who served a 30-year sentence for spyi ...

, an Israeli spy who had fled the US in 1987 after being indicted on counts of espionage against the US government. Adelson has been influential voice in calling for deals with

Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...

that facilitate the release of Israeli hostages taken during the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel. Following the attack, she published an op-ed in ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' Israel and ''

'', where she stated that "radical Muslim and

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a Decentralization, decentralized political and social movement that aims to highlight racism, discrimination and Racial inequality in the United States, racial inequality experienced by black people, and to pro ...

activists, ultra- progressives and career agitators...should be dead to us". Adelson and her husband cut off contact with

and his wife, Sara, around 2019. Adelson has interpersonal strife with Sara, whom she believes has undue influence over the political decisions of Benjamin and regards as being psychologically ill. Adelson testified at Benjamin Netanyahu's 2024 corruption trial that Sara Netanyahu exerted pressure on her to provide her with gifts and favorable media coverage.

Involvement in Birthright Israel

Adelson is a prominent supporter of

Birthright Israel Taglit-Birthright Israel (), also known as Birthright Israel or simply Birthright, is a free ten-day heritage trip to Israel, Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights for young adults of Jewish heritage between the ages of 18 and 26. The program is spon ...

, a program that brings young Jews to Israel for free. With her husband she was the program's largest donor; the couple had given more than $250 million to Birthright Israel by 2015. She has stated that she wanted more young Jews on the trip to "have more Jewish babies" because assimilation is "decimating the Diaspora," then go back and "lobby governments" and "sway public opinion."

Support for the annexation of the West Bank

Adelson donated $25 million towards

's medical school which opened in the West Bank in 2019. She stated that the gift would help "to strengthen the settlers in

Judea Judea or Judaea (; ; , ; ) is a mountainous region of the Levant. Traditionally dominated by the city of Jerusalem, it is now part of Palestine and Israel. The name's usage is historic, having been used in antiquity and still into the pres ...

and

Samaria Samaria (), the Hellenized form of the Hebrew name Shomron (), is used as a historical and Hebrew Bible, biblical name for the central region of the Land of Israel. It is bordered by Judea to the south and Galilee to the north. The region is ...

", terms that imply that the West Bank was promised to the Jewish people by God. She donated $6 million to HaShomer HaChadash, a volunteer militia that puts volunteer security guards and agricultural workers on settler farms in the West Bank via the Adelson Foundations between 2019 and 2022. Critiques of the organization have referred to it as a militia. In 2020, Adelson was named as a defendant alongside Netanyahu, Trump, AIPAC, and others in a lawsuit filed in the Washington, D.C., district court alleging "the denationalization and dehumanization of the Palestinian people" and "the installation of an apartheid regime in the OPT". Her husband was not included in the lawsuit. The case was dismissed in 2021.

President of the Maccabee Task Force

Adelson and her husband were early donors to the

Maccabee Task Force The Maccabee Task Force is a conservative Zionism, Zionist organization operating with the aims of countering Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movements on college campuses and promoting pro-Israel beliefs amongst young people. It was founded in ...

, an organization aimed at combatting the

Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) is a nonviolent Palestinian-led movement promoting boycotts, divestments, and economic sanctions against Israel. Its objective is to pressure Israel to meet what the BDS movement describes as Israel's ...

movement on college campuses and spreading pro-Israel sentiment among young people. In 2015 they donated 2.28 million dollars to the MTF, and their support from 2013 to 2013 totaled more than 70 million dollars. Adelson is the organization's president, but this is not listed on the organization's website. Critics of the organization hypothesized a connection between the organization and the crack down on participants in pro-Palestinian demonstrations on college campuses in Trump's second term.

Ownership of Dallas Mavericks

Adelson and her son-in-law

Patrick Dumont Patrick Dumont (born 1974 or 1975 ) is an American businessman and owner of the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association. After his 2009 marriage to Sivan Ochshorn, daughter of Miriam Adelson, Dumont began working for the Adelson ...

purchased a controlling ownership interest in the

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

in December 2023. Dumont became the Mavericks' governor and representative to the NBA Board of Governors. The Adelson-Dumont families' would own 69% of the team and previous controlling owner

Mark Cuban Mark Cuban (born July 31, 1958) is an American businessman and television personality. He is the former principal owner and current minority owner of the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and co-owner of 2929 Entertain ...

's share was reduced to 27%. Since this purchase, Adelson has been advocating for greater legalization of gambling in Texas, in order to build a casino in the state. it was reported that the NBA would not allow Adelson to be the governor for the team due to her political reputation, but allowed Dumont to be governor instead. Under Adelson's management, Luka Dončić was controversially traded to the LA Lakers with the explanation that he was not taking care of his body well enough. After the trade, a fan was removed from a Maverick's game for wearing T-shirts that showed a red clown nose on a picture of Adelson. At the same game, people chanting for the firing of the general manager who set up the trade where also removed. The trade lead to conspiracy theories that Adelson was purposely harming the team to facilitate moving them to her home city, Las Vegas.

Estimations of net worth

Since the death of her husband, Miriam Adelson has been ranked as one of the wealthiest people in the world. ''

'' estimated her net worth at $38.2 billion in 2021, $27.5 billion in 2022, and $35 billion in 2023. In 2024, Adelson's net worth was estimated at $32 billion, making her the richest Israeli and the 53rd-richest person in the world as well as the richest person in the state of Nevada. ''Forbes'' has also listed Adelson among the ten richest women in America in 2023 and 2024, ranking her fifth and eighth, respectively. According to the ''

Bloomberg Billionaires Index The ''Bloomberg Billionaires Index'', launched in March 2012, is a daily ranking of the world's 500 richest people based on their net worth. It features a profile of each billionaire, and includes a tool that allows users to compare the fortunes o ...

'', , Adelson had a net worth of $31.7 billion, which it increased to $37.5 billion four months later.

Awards and recognition

, awarded by President Donald Trump (2018) * Doctor ''

Honoris Causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

'' by

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...

(2007) * In 2013, Adelson received honorary citizenship of Jerusalem. *

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (WWICS) or Wilson Center is a Washington, D.C.–based think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topi ...

' Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship