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(JTA) — The casino company controlled by Jewish megadonor Miriam Adelson is again paying dividends to its shareholders, which could pave the way for a rebound in the foundation of the circle of relatives.
The Adelson Family Foundation, founded through Adelson and her ex-husband, Sheldon Adelson, has been a prolific donor to Jewish organizations, Birthright Israel added. The couple is also active in politics, supporting Republican campaigns. Beginning with the pandemic, Adelson’s donations to charitable and political causes declined.
Assets held at the family’s charity grew from more than $200 million before the pandemic to $37 million in 2021 as it distributed cash to the base and other reasons without being replenished, according to IRS filings.
Base grants fell to $80 million in 2021, down from $100 million last year and $117 million in 2019, according to IRS records. The base only had about $6 million in reserves at the end of 2021. More recent figures are still available.
The drop in donations has had a significant impact. The Birthright program, for example, has noted that its investment for the Adelson Family Foundation halved in each of the past two years, with a corresponding drop in the loss of young Jews in Israel.
Now, Adelson’s business customers seem to be improving. Su Las Vegas Sands Corp. It announced it would pay dividends to shareholders for the first time in over 3 years as the company begins to recover from the global pandemic-related slowdown in travel and hospitality. Adelson’s non-public payment is expected to be about $87 million for the quarter, a really large sum but still a fraction of what she and her husband earned before the pandemic.
It’s unclear if or when the cash injection will mean a payback for the various organizations that have noted Adelson’s decline over a multi-year era, which included Sheldon Adelson’s death at age 87 more than two years ago. Adelson’s representatives said she was not giving interviews at this time; Michael Bohnen, president of the Adelson Family Foundation, declined to comment.
The list of organizations consulted by Adelson is long and varied. It includes right-wing advocacy teams such as the Israeli-American Council and the Zionist Organization of America; the Maccabee Task Force, a pro-Israel educational organization founded by conservatives; U. S. fundraising teams for the Israeli army; Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum and Memorial in Jerusalem; and the Adelson Family Campus, a giant Jewish day school in Las Vegas, where Adelson lives.
Jonathan Sarna, a professor of American Jewish history at Brandeis University, said he is confident in the commitment of Adelson’s circle of relatives to the charities they have supported. the giant network of Israelis in the United States through IAC,” he said. “They have also contributed to countless other Jewish philanthropic initiatives, adding Jewish Day Schools and the Las Vegas Jewish Network. I have no doubt that the circle of relatives will continue their culture of philanthropic generosity.
Andres Spokoiny, president and CEO of Jewish Funders Network, said global Jewish philanthropy is developing or declining because of a single donor, even a philanthropist as prolific as Adelson. single donor,” he said.
Adelson’s call is also prominent in Republican politics: The pair broke a record for maximum donations in an election cycle in 2020, with nearly $173 million in contributions to the crusade. But in the 2022 midterm elections, new widow Adelson gave only a fraction, without any contribution to the Republican Jewish Coalition, whose main backer is WhatsApp founder Jan Koum, who donated $1. 35 million to the RJC’s Super PAC.
The dividend reduction became imaginable through the accumulation of attendance at Sands casinos in Macau and Singapore in recent months, which generated a profit of $2. 5 billion for the current quarter, double what it was a year ago. Company executives said business has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels, suggesting more room for growth.
“In Macau, we were pleased to see the ongoing recovery across all gaming and non-gaming segments progressing in the quarter,” Sands Chairman and CEO Rob Goldstein said on a July 19 investor conference call. “We remain deeply excited to continue our investments to decorate Macau’s tourist appeal for travelers from across the region, adding foreign visitors to Macau. “
Because of Sands’ profitability, the company will pay shareholders a dividend of 20 cents per share. Adelson’s roughly 57% stake is valued at more than $35 billion, making her among the 40 richest people in the world according to Forbes.
Under Miriam Adelson, Sands pushed to legalize gambling in Texas and is seeking one of 3 licenses in New York.
Sheldon Adelson, who founded Las Vegas Sands and served as CEO as it grew into a foreign hotel and gaming empire, passed away in January 2021 and lived long enough to see Sands’ profits plummet due to Covid-related lockdowns. The following year, the company, now controlled only through Miriam, sold its iconic Las Vegas properties, The Venetian and Sands Expo and Convention Center, for $6. 5 billion in a bid for its Asian casinos and hotels.
This is the first time the Adelson empire has faced economic headwinds and is recovering. Adelson had begun expanding in Asia before the 2008 currency crisis, borrowing heavily to finance the structure of new casinos and hotels. The company had lost billions due to synchronization, and the Adelsons suspended much of their donations for a few years.
It’s unclear whether Miriam Adelson needs to replace her philanthropic priorities after her husband’s death. The 77-year-old, an immigrant to the United States from Israel and a naturalized U. S. citizen, earlier this year criticized the Israeli prime minister’s judicial reform. The government of Benjamin Netanyahu, which stood out for Netanyahu’s long career.
Compared to her husband, Miriam has stayed away from the public, with one notable exception in 2018, when Donald Trump awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. He had been much more influential in the couple’s activities than many thought.
“Everyone says it’s Sheldon, but it’s Miriam,” said Michael Cherry, a board member of the Las Vegas rehabilitation clinic founded through the Adelsons.
Along with her husband, Miriam was the biggest donor to Trump’s 2016 presidential bid. But this time he has yet to announce it for Trump, as he seeks to win the Republican nomination and be re-elected in 2024. Earlier this year, Trump’s rival Florida Gov. 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 he had no plans to endorse in the primaries.
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