World's Billionaires - #12

© Mike Clarke/AFP/Getty Images

Sheldon Adelson    
United States    
$26.0 bil

• Cabdriver's son borrowed $200 from uncle to sell newspapers at age 12.
• Studied voice in teens, later dropped out of City College in New York City to become court reporter.
• Made first fortune in trade shows.
• Created computer industry's marquee event, Comdex, in mid-1980s; sold show to Japan's Softbank for $862 million in 1995.
• Then Vegas: bought Sands Hotel & Casino for $128 million, demolished it to build the $1.5 billion all-suites Venetian Resort Hotel Casino and the 1.2-million-square-foot Sands Convention Center.
• Changed the way casinos do business by enticing conventioneers to Sin City midweek, taking emphasis off gambling. Sold suites for $250 a night, added high-end retailers, celebrity-chef restaurants.
• Took Las Vegas Sands public in December 2004.
• In January opened $1.9 billion Palazzo resort next to nemesis Steve Wynn's Wynn Las Vegas.
• All in on Asia: opened $265 million Sands Macau Casino in May 2004, recouped entire investment in one year. Unveiled $2.4 billion Venetian Macau in August; 10.5-million-square-foot mega-resort features 3,400 slots, 800 tables, 3,000 suites and a convention center. Won coveted Singapore gaming license last year; building $3.6 billion Marina Bay Sands on 51-acre site with a view of city's skyline.

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