Politics

The Obama Administration Has Been Great for Sheldon Adelson

Sheldon Adelson, the self-made billionaire who donated about $150 million to get President Obama out of office in 2012, has actually made more money than almost anyone else during the Obama years.

By Allie Jones
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Sheldon Adelson, the self-made billionaire who donated about $150 million to get President Obama out of office in 2012, has actually made more money than almost anyone else during the Obama years. Forbes released its list of the world's richest people on Monday morning, and Adelson has cracked the top 10 for the first time since 2007. He is now worth $38 billion, making about $32 million a day in 2013. Adelson has long voiced his concerns about Obama redistributing wealth. But so far, he personally hasn't taken much of a hit.

In 2012, Adelson said he'd do "whatever it takes" to defeat Obama. (In an interview at the time, Forbes reported, "Adelson, ironically, has made more money during the Obama administration than just about any other American, based on Forbes tabulations.") That political spending obviously did not work out for him, but he made back the $150 million he donated to Romney PACs in less than a week in 2013. (Adelson also donated a little over $20 million to Newt Gingrich, long after his primary campaign was considered dead in the water.) Before ramping up his Romney donations, Adelson told Forbes,

What scares me is the continuation of the socialist-style economy we’ve been experiencing for almost four years. That scares me because the redistribution of wealth is the path to more socialism, and to more of the government controlling people’s lives.

But clearly that "socialist-style economy" has been very, very good to Adelson. The casino owner will undoubtedly use his considerable funds to try to elect a Republican in 2016. He's also throwing money to fight against internet gambling, Forbes reports. GOP 2016 hopefuls started wooing him back in 2012.

Adelson's worth, according to Forbes. The gap in Nov. 2012 is his listed election spending, to scale.

This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.