Miriam Adelson (born 10 October 1945) is an

Israeli American , native_name_lang = , image = , caption = , population = 110,000–150,000 , popplace = New York metropolitan area, Los Angeles metropolitan area, Miami metropolitan area, and other large metropolitan are ...

physician and billionaire. After her marriage to American business magnate

Sheldon Adelson Sheldon Gary Adelson (; August 4, 1933 – January 11, 2021) was an American businessman, investor, political donor and philanthropist. He was the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Las Vegas Sands Corporation, which owns th ...

in 1991, she became a donor to conservative political causes in the United States and Israel. The Adelsons donated to the

Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign The 2016 presidential campaign of Donald Trump was formally launched on June 16, 2015, at Trump Tower in New York City. Trump was the Republican nominee for President of the United States in the 2016 election, having won the most state prim ...

, his

presidential inauguration A presidential inauguration is a ceremonial event centered on the formal transition of a new president into office, usually in democracies where this official has been elected. Frequently, this involves the swearing of an oath of office. Examples o ...

, his defense fund against the Mueller investigation into Russian interference and the 2020 campaign. She is the current publisher of the newspaper ''

Israel Hayom ''Israel Hayom'' ( he, יִשְׂרָאֵל הַיּוֹם, lit=Israel Today) is an Israeli national Hebrew-language free daily newspaper. First published in 2007, ''Israel Hayom'' is Israel's most widely distributed newspaper. Owned by the fam ...

''. She is also a voting member on the board of trustees at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

. Miriam and Sheldon Adelson were presented with the

Woodrow Wilson Award Woodrow Wilson Awards are given out in multiple countries each year by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars of the Smithsonian Institution to individuals in both the public sphere and business who have shown an outstanding commitm ...

for Corporate Citizenship by the

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (or Wilson Center) is a quasi-government entity and think tank which conducts research to inform public policy. Located in the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washi ...

of the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

in 2008. In 2013, she received honorary citizenship of Jerusalem. She was awarded the

Presidential Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially merito ...

by Donald Trump in 2018. As of June 2021, Adelson is the 44th-richest person, fifth-richest woman, and richest Israeli in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$29.6 billion according to ''

Bloomberg Billionaires Index The ''Bloomberg Billionaires Index'', launched in March 2012, is a daily ranking of the world's 500 richest people based on their net worth. It draws information from "action in the stock market, economic indicators and news reports", features a ...

'' through her majority ownership of

Las Vegas Sands Las Vegas Sands Corporation is an American casino and resort company with corporate headquarters in Paradise, Nevada, United States. Its corporate mission is to create "Integrated Resorts" which feature a combination of gambling, accommodation, ...

Biography

Miriam Farbstein (later Adelson) was born in Tel Aviv,

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...

in 1945, to parents who fled Poland before the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

. Her father was a prominent member of the

Mapam Mapam ( he, מַפָּ״ם, an acronym for , ) was a left-wing political party in Israel. The party is one of the ancestors of the modern-day Meretz party. History Mapam was formed by a January 1948 merger of the kibbutz-based Hashomer Hatz ...

political party. In the 1950s, her family settled in

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

, where Adelson's father owned and operated several movie theaters. President Trump at the Israeli American Council National Summit (49193133993) (cropped)

President Trump at the Israeli American Council National Summit (49193133993) (cropped)

She attended the

Hebrew Reali School , motto_translation = ''Walk Humbly'' , address = Hertzel 16 , city = Haifa , zipcode = 3312103 , country = Israel , coordinates = , other_name ...

for 12 years. She served mandatory army service as a medical officer at

Ness Ziona Ness Ziona ( he, נֵס צִיּוֹנָה, ''Nes Tziyona'') is a town in central Israel. In it had a population of , and its jurisdiction was 15,579 dunams (). History Early history Lying within Ness Ziona's city bounds is the ruin of an Arab vi ...

. After earning a Bachelor of Science in

Microbiology Microbiology () is the scientific study of microorganisms, those being unicellular (single cell), multicellular (cell colony), or acellular (lacking cells). Microbiology encompasses numerous sub-disciplines including virology, bacteriology, prot ...

and

Genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar wor ...

from the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

, she earned a medical degree from

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...

Sackler Medical School Sackler Faculty of Medicine is a medical school affiliated with Tel Aviv University, located in Tel Aviv, Israel. History The Sackler School of Medicine was named for Arthur, Mortimer and Raymond Sackler, and was founded and named prior to th ...

. She married Ariel Ochshorn, also a physician, with whom she had two children. Adelson divorced Ochshorn in the 1980s, and while studying at Rockefeller University, she met Sheldon Adelson, whom she married in 1991. She is credited with influencing Sheldon's political views on Israel and served as one of the 'finance vice-chairs' for the

inauguration of Donald Trump The inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States marked the commencement of Donald Trump's term as president and Mike Pence as vice president. An estimated 300,000 to 600,000 people attended the public ceremony hel ...

. After Sheldon Adelson died in 2021, she became the owner of casino company Las Vegas Sands and is now on Forbes' 36th position for the ranking of The Richest People in The World. Her net worth is $38.2B in 2022.

Medical career

She became a physician and eventually the chief internist in an emergency room at Tel Aviv's Rokach (Hadassah) Hospital. After divorcing her first husband, she went to

Rockefeller University The Rockefeller University is a private biomedical research and graduate-only university in New York City, New York. It focuses primarily on the biological and medical sciences and provides doctoral and postdoctoral education. It is classif ...

in 1986 as an associate physician specializing in

drug addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use of ...

. She was mentored by and collaborated with

Mary Jeanne Kreek Mary Jeanne Kreek (9 February 1937 – March 27, 2021) was an American neurobiologist specializing in the study and treatment of addiction. She is best known for her work with Marie Nyswander and Dr. Vincent Dole in the development of methadone t ...

. In 1993, she founded a substance abuse center and research clinic. In 2000, she and her second husband opened the Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Research Clinic in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

. A strong supporter of Israel, she admitted her heart has always been in that country and that she got "stuck" in America after meeting her husband.

Support for Donald Trump

Adelson is known for her support for

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

. She and her husband were the largest donors of Trump throughout his presidency; they provided the largest donation to his 2016 campaign, his

, his defense fund against the Mueller investigation into Russian interference and the 2020 campaign. She has written that Trump "should enjoy sweeping support" among U.S. Jews and Israelis, and that Trump deserves a "Book of Trump" in the Bible due to his support for Israel. She pushed for the pardon of

Aviem Sella Aviem Sella ( he, אביאם סלע, born January 7, 1946) is an Israeli businessman and former commander in the Israeli Air Force. In 1987, he was charged in absentia on three counts of espionage for recruiting Jonathan Pollard, who served a 30-y ...

who spied against America. Adelson wrote that Trump represents "kinship, friendship, courage, the triumph of truth" and that "Israelis and proud Jews owe Donald Trump our gratitude."

Awards and recognition

, awarded by President Donald Trump (2018) * Doctor ''

Honoris Causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

'' by

(2007)

Biography

Medical career

Support for Donald Trump

Awards and recognition

References

Further reading