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Did Las Vegas' Richest Man Give $20 Million To Newt?

Politico notes that Adelson’s rep denies the story, but it isn’t exactly far-fetched. Adelson is by far the biggest donor to Gingrich’s now-defunct American Solutions PAC, giving in excess of $7 million since 2006.

A $20 million donation at this point in Gingrich’s campaign could be a game-changer.* As Politico notes:

“A major contribution from Adelson would enable the recipient group to start airing ads in Iowa to counter a weeklong anti-Gingrich on-air assault that is already taking a toll on his front-runner status in the Hawkeye State, according to private and public polling.

Of course, $20 million is a drop in the ocean for 78-year-old Adelson, the 8th richest person in America as of our Forbes 400 list.

When we crunched our numbers in August, Adelson’s net worth was up $7 billion since 2010. His strong position in the casino-crazy Asian markets had pushed stock of his Las Vegas Sands empire up roughly 50%.

Since then, the stock has dipped slightly, but $40 ain’t shabby compared to a low of $1.50 in 2009. Adelson has said he aims to push the stock back up to its 2007 high of $100.

Nearly 90% of Las Vegas Sands’ operating profit now comes from Asia. Through his majority-owned subsidiary Sands China, Adelson has 3 resorts in Macau, the gambling hotspot that attracts Asia’s big spenders in droves.

While he’s now worth $21.5 billion, Adelson didn’t come from money: he’s a cabdriver’s son who struck it rich creating the computer industry’s marquee event, Comdex, in the mid-1980s. He sold it to Japan’s Softbank for $862 million in 1995.

Adelson’s Las Vegas properties include the $1.5 billion Venetian Resort Hotel Casino and the 1.2-million-square-foot Sands Convention Center, opened in 1997. More recently, he oversaw the launch of the $1.9 billion Palazzo resort in 2008.

Watch out for more news of Adelson’s fellow billionaires cutting checks for pro-Gingrich groups. Ten members of the Forbes 400 list gave to his old PAC, and as his campaign gains momentum, they may decide their allegiance lies with the former Speaker.

Other than Rick Santorum, each of the candidates has already spent more than an average American household earns in a lifetime.

 

Wow...what a total waste of money.
I can think of a lot of better things to do with 20 million bucks than that... :279-