Miriam Adelson cut her philanthropy as casinos closed due to Covid. Now his business empire is recovering

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(JTA) The casino company controlled by Jewish megadonor Miriam Adelson is once again paying dividends to its shareholders, potentially paving the way for a rebound for the family foundation.

The Adelson Family Foundation founded by Adelson and her late husband, Sheldon Adelson, has been a prolific donor to Jewish organizations, including Birthright Israel. The couple were also active in politics, supporting Republican campaigns. But after the casino industry stagnated at the start of the pandemic, Adelson’s donations to charitable and political causes dwindled.

Assets held in the family’s charitable trust have fallen from more than $200 million before the pandemic to $37 million in 2021 as it distributed money to the foundation and other causes without being replenished, according to IRS filings.

Grants from foundations fell to $80 million in 2021, from $100 million the previous year and $117 million in 2019, according to IRS records. The foundation only had about $6 million in reserves at the end of 2021. More recent figures are not yet available.

The drop in donations had a significant impact. The Birthright program, for example, has seen its funding from the Adelson Family Foundation cut in half in each of the past two years, with a corresponding drop in free trips for young Jews to Israel.

Now, Adelson’s business prospects appear to be improving. Her Las Vegas Sands Corp. announced it would pay dividends to shareholders for the first time in more than three years as the company begins to recover from the pandemic-related downturn in global travel and hospitality. Adelson’s personal payout is expected to be around $87 million for the quarter, a substantial sum but still a fraction of what she and her husband regularly received before the pandemic.

It’s unclear if or when the cash injection will mean a restoration of funding for the various organizations that have seen Adelson’s support decline over a period of years, which included the death of Sheldon Adelson at age 87 more than two years ago. Representatives for Adelson said she is not giving interviews at this time; Michael Bohnen, president of the Adelson Family Foundation, declined to comment.

The list of organizations supported by Adelson’s support is long and varied. It includes right-wing advocacy groups like the American-Israeli Council and the Zionist Organization of America; the Maccabee Task Force, a pro-Israel academic group founded by conservatives; US fundraising groups for the Israeli military; the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial and Museum in Jerusalem; and the Adelson Family Campus, a large Jewish day school in Las Vegas, where Adelson lives.

Jonathan Sarna, professor of American Jewish history at Brandeis University, said he was confident in the Adelson family’s commitment to the charities they supported. The Adelson family played a pivotal role in Birthright Israel and in organizing the large community of Israelis in the United States through IAC, he said. They have also contributed to countless other Jewish philanthropic initiatives, including Jewish Day Schools and the Las Vegas Jewish Community. I have no doubt that the family will continue its tradition of philanthropic generosity.

Andrs Spokoiny, president and CEO of the Jewish Funders Network, said the Jewish philanthropic world does not rise or fall because of a single donor, even a philanthropist as prolific as Adelson. The funding landscape is diverse and there is no sense of dependence on a single donor, he said.

The Adelson name is also prominent in Republican politics: The couple broke a record for the most donations in an election cycle in 2020, with nearly $173 million in campaign contributions. But the 2022 midterm elections saw the newly widowed Adelson give just a fraction of that, with no contribution to the Republican Jewish Coalition, whose main patron became WhatsApp founder Jan Koum, who donated $1.35 million to RJCs Super PAC.

The restoration of dividends was made possible by increased attendance at Sands casinos in Macau and Singapore in recent months, which generated $2.5 billion in revenue for the second quarter, double what it was a year ago. Company executives said business still hasn’t returned to pre-pandemic levels, suggesting further room for growth.

In Macau, we were pleased to see the ongoing recovery across all in-game and out-of-game segments progress during the quarter, Sands Chairman and CEO Rob Goldstein said in a July 19 conference call with investors. We remain deeply excited to continue our investments to enhance Macau’s tourism appeal for travelers from across the region, including overseas visitors to Macau.

Due to Sands’ profitability, the company pays shareholders a dividend of 20 cents per share. Adelson’s roughly 57% stake is valued at more than $35 billion, which places her among the 40 richest people in the world according to Forbes.

Under Miriam Adelson, Sands lobbied to legalize gambling in Texas and is pursuing a bid for one of three licenses to operate a casino in New York.

Sheldon Adelson, who founded Las Vegas Sands and served as its CEO as it grew into an international gambling and resort empire, died in January 2021, living long enough to see Sands’ revenues plummet due to Covid-related lockdowns. The following year, the company, now controlled solely by Miriam, sold its flagship Las Vegas properties, The Venetian and the Sands Expo and Convention Center, for $6.5 billion in a bet on its Asian casinos and resorts.

This is not the first time the Adelson empire has faced economic headwinds and recovered. Adelson had started expanding in Asia before the 2008 financial crisis, borrowing heavily to finance the construction of new casinos and hotels. The company had lost billions due to the timing, and the Adelsons suspended much of their donations for a few years.

It’s unclear if Miriam Adelson wants to change her philanthropic priorities following the death of her husband. The 77-year-old, an immigrant to the United States from Israel and a naturalized American citizen, earlier this year criticized the judicial reform pursued by the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which was notable because of Adelson’s longstanding support for Netanyahu.

Compared to her husband, Miriam has remained aloof from the public eye, with one notable exception in 2018, when Donald Trump awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. A profile of her in the Guardian shortly after suggested that she had been much more influential in the couples’ activities than many believed.

Everyone says it’s Sheldon, but it’s Miriam, Michael Cherry, a board member of the Las Vegas rehab clinic the Adelsons founded, allegedly said.

Along with her husband, Miriam was the biggest donor to Trump’s 2016 presidential bid. But she has yet to announce her support for Trump this time around as he seeks to win the Republican nomination and seek re-election in 2024. Earlier this year, Trump’s rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, reportedly courted Adelson and other conservative Jewish donors. DeSantis and Adelson were seen sitting together at a dinner party in Jerusalem. But Adelson reportedly said she does not plan to make an endorsement in the primary.

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