Miriam Adelson

Miriam Adelson
Born	(1945-10-10) October 10, 1945 Tel Aviv, Mandatory Palestine
Occupation(s)	Doctor, entrepreneur, philanthropist, political contributor
Known for	Major Republican Party donor, support for Donald Trump, ownership stakes in Las Vegas Sands and Israel Hayom

Miriam Adelson (; born October 10, 1945) is an Israeli-American doctor, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and prominent conservative political contributor. She was married to Sheldon Adelson until his passing in 2021.

As of , her net worth is estimated at US$29.5 billion. She holds the position of the 58th wealthiest individual worldwide. Her primary assets encompass Las Vegas Sands, the Dallas Mavericks, and with her family, ownership stakes in Israel Hayom and the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Since the 2010s, Adelson has emerged as one of the largest personal financiers within the Republican Party and a significant supporter of Donald Trump. Together with her late husband, she provided the largest financial backing for his 2016 presidential bid, inauguration events, defense fund during the Mueller probe, and his 2020 campaign. In 2024, she ranked as Trump's third-largest donor, contributing $106 million.

Adelson has been a consistent advocate for US policies favorable to Israel, including endorsing Israel's proposed annexation of the West Bank.

In acknowledgment of her impact, President Trump awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2018.

Biography

Born Miriam Farbstein in Tel Aviv, Mandatory Palestine, in 1945, her parents escaped Poland prior to the Holocaust. Her father was an influential member of Mapam, a leftist Israeli political party. During the 1950s, her family relocated to Haifa, where her father operated several cinemas. She completed twelve years of education at the Hebrew Reali School.

Before marrying Sheldon Adelson, Miriam was wed to physician Ariel Ochshorn and they had two daughters: Sivan Ochshorn and Yasmin Lukatz. Their marriage ended by 1986.

Medical career

Adelson earned a Bachelor of Science degree in microbiology and genetics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, followed by graduating magna cum laude from Tel Aviv University Faculty of Medicine with a medical degree. She fulfilled mandatory military service as a medical officer at Ness Ziona and later served as chief internist in the emergency department at Tel Aviv's Rokach (Hadassah) Hospital. In 1986, she joined Rockefeller University as an associate physician concentrating on drug addiction, collaborating for twenty years with Mary Jeanne Kreek, a leader in methadone treatment for heroin addiction. She has authored multiple scientific articles on addiction and worked as a guest investigator at Rockefeller University.

Marriage to Sheldon Adelson and later career

Miriam met businessman Sheldon Adelson through a blind date in 1989; they married two years later and had two sons, Adam and Matan Adelson. In 1993, they established the first Adelson Clinic for substance abuse treatment in Israel, followed by opening a second facility in Las Vegas in 2000. These clinics specialize in medically supervised detoxification methods such as methadone therapy.

In 2018, Adelson assumed the role of publisher for Israel Hayom, Israel’s most widely circulated newspaper—a position she continues to hold. After Sheldon Adelson’s death in 2021, she became the principal owner of casino operator Las Vegas Sands, overseeing it alongside her family.

Philanthropy

Adelson heads the Adelson Foundations, which are split into two main entities: the Adelson Family Foundation, founded in 2007 to advance causes related to the State of Israel and Jewish communities, and the Adelson Medical Research Foundation, which concentrates on medical advancements.

This foundation allocates $200 million every year to support Jewish and Israeli programs, positioning it as the largest private donor in this field.

She holds a position on the board of trustees at the University of Southern California and has provided financial backing for the contentious medical school at Ariel University in the West Bank, inaugurated in 2019.

Political activities in the United States

In May 2024, New York magazine clarified that a significant portion of political contributions previously credited to Sheldon Adelson were actually made by Miriam. During their marriage, Sheldon contributed 848 donations totaling $273 million, whereas Miriam made 717 donations amounting to $284 million.

Miriam began making substantial political contributions soon after marrying Sheldon in 1991, transitioning her support from Democratic to Republican candidates. The couple were among the earliest backers of Benjamin Netanyahu's 1996 campaign for Prime Minister of Israel and also funded the Second inauguration of George W. Bush in 2005.

Following the 2010 Citizens United v. FEC decision, Miriam significantly amplified her political giving. She emerged as the leading female donor in the 2012 United States elections, contributing $46 million—an amount equal to that of the next 15 highest female contributors combined.

Support for Donald Trump

Since 2016, Adelson has been a key supporter of Donald Trump. Along with her husband, she was among his largest financial backers during his initial presidency, funding his 2016 election bid, inauguration events, legal defense amid the Mueller special counsel investigation, and his 2020 re-election effort.

Adelson has stated that Trump "should enjoy sweeping support" among American Jews and Israelis and even proposed a "Book of Trump" be added to the Bible due to his strong pro-Israel stance. She commended Trump as exemplifying "kinship, friendship, courage, the triumph of truth," affirming that "Israelis and proud Jews owe Donald Trump our gratitude."

In recognition of her support, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Trump in 2018.

In January 2019, the Adelsons donated $500,000 to the Patriot Legal Expense Fund Trust, which assists Trump's associates under investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller; this represented the Trust’s largest contribution at that time. Additionally, she served as a finance vice-chair for Trump's inaugural ceremony.

During the 2024 presidential primaries, Adelson initially maintained neutrality despite being courted by candidates such as Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley. Eventually, she endorsed Trump in the 2024 United States presidential election, contributing $106 million toward his campaign—ranking her as its third-largest donor.

Throughout the 2024 campaign, Adelson sought Trump's endorsement for Israel's annexation of the West Bank. However, a spokesperson denied any conditions tied to her financial support regarding this policy.

Michael Wolff’s 2025 book All or Nothing describes friction between Trump and Adelson. According to Wolff, Trump found her "boring" after their initial meetings and was reluctant to engage further despite her substantial donations. These assertions were refuted by the White House communications director.

Their relationship reportedly worsened following the Republican National Convention when Trump discovered that Adelson had employed staff critical of him to manage her super PAC supporting his campaign. Additional strain arose when Trump, influenced by Isaac Perlmutter's negative opinion of Adelson's reliability, sent her a text labeling her his "enemy" due to these staffing choices.

Israeli politics

Adelson has expressed a deep personal affinity for Israel, shaping Sheldon Adelson's political perspectives and motivating substantial contributions to Zionist initiatives. Her financial support extends to the Zionist Organization of America, Jerusalem’s Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, and American organizations that raise funds for the Israeli defense forces.

She endorsed President Trump's 2021 decision to pardon Aviem Sella, an Israeli intelligence operative charged with espionage against the United States. Adelson has been an outspoken proponent of dialogue with Hamas aimed at securing the freedom of Israeli hostages taken during the Hamas-led assault on October 7, 2023. In opinion pieces published in Forbes Israel and Israel Hayom, she criticized extremist activists and far-left progressives.

Around 2019, Adelson and her husband distanced themselves from Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara, attributing this to Sara’s excessive sway over Netanyahu’s political choices and describing her as mentally unstable. During Netanyahu’s 2024 corruption proceedings, Miriam Adelson testified that Sara Netanyahu pressured her for gifts and favorable media treatment.

Involvement in Birthright Israel

Together with her husband, Adelson was the principal benefactor of Birthright Israel, a program providing complimentary trips to Israel for young Jewish individuals, contributing more than $250 million by 2015. She stressed the importance of boosting Jewish engagement to combat assimilation and promote advocacy efforts supporting Israel.

Support for the annexation of the West Bank

In 2019, Adelson donated $25 million to create Ariel University’s medical school located in the West Bank, intending to "fortify the settler communities in Judea and Samaria". This contribution reflects her endorsement of Jewish territorial claims in that region.

From 2019 through 2022, the Adelson Foundations allocated $6 million to HaShomer HaChadash, a volunteer militia offering protection and agricultural assistance to West Bank settler farms. The organization has been criticized as a paramilitary group.

In 2020, Adelson was named as a defendant in a lawsuit filed in Washington, D.C., alongside Netanyahu, Trump, and others, accusing them of establishing an apartheid regime in the OPT. The case excluded her husband and was dismissed in 2021.

President of the Maccabee Task Force

Adelson and her husband were among the earliest financiers of the Maccabee Task Force, an entity opposing the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement on university campuses while promoting pro-Israel views among young people. They contributed $2.28 million in 2015 alone, with their total funding between 2013 and 2019 surpassing $70 million. Although not publicly disclosed, Adelson holds the position of president within the organization. Critics have associated MTF with efforts to suppress pro-Palestinian protests on campuses during Trump’s second term.

Ownership of Dallas Mavericks

In December 2023, Adelson and her son-in-law Patrick Dumont secured majority ownership of the Dallas Mavericks basketball franchise in the National Basketball Association. Dumont assumed the role of team governor and serves as their representative on the NBA Board of Governors. The combined Adelson-Dumont families control 69% of the franchise shares, reducing former majority owner Mark Cuban’s stake to 27%. Since taking ownership, Adelson has advocated for broader legalization of gambling in Texas with plans to develop a casino within the state. Reports suggest that due to her political background, NBA officials declined to approve her as governor, allowing Dumont to fulfill that position instead.

Following Adelson’s takeover, star player Luka Dončić was controversially traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, officially citing concerns about his physical conditioning. After this transaction, a fan was removed from a Mavericks game for wearing shirts portraying Adelson with a red clown nose; others chanting for dismissal of the general manager responsible for the trade were also ejected. This sequence sparked conspiracy theories alleging that Adelson intended to weaken the team to facilitate relocating it to Las Vegas.

Net Worth Estimates

Following the death of her husband, Miriam Adelson has consistently been listed among the globe's wealthiest figures. Forbes valued her fortune at $38.2 billion in 2021, $27.5 billion in 2022, and $35 billion in 2023. By 2024, her net worth was approximated at $32 billion, positioning her as the richest individual in Israel, the 53rd wealthiest worldwide, and the top-ranking billionaire in Nevada. Additionally, Forbes included her in the list of America's ten wealthiest women for both 2023 and 2024, placing her fifth and eighth respectively. The Bloomberg Billionaires Index reported that between early and mid-2024, her wealth increased from $31.7 billion to $37.5 billion over a span of four months.

Honors and Distinctions

• The Presidential Medal of Freedom, conferred by President Donald Trump in 2018
• Honorary Doctorate (Honoris Causa) awarded by Tel Aviv University in 2007
• Granted honorary citizenship of Jerusalem in 2013
• Recipient of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars' Woodrow Wilson Award recognizing Corporate Citizenship