Sheldon Adelson Makes $2.1 Billion in 2 Days

Adelson’s $100 million political contribution in 2012 looks miniscule considering he made more than $43 million per hour earlier this week.

The standard line is that Las Vegas Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson is very politically interested. He spent almost $100 million trying to get a Republican into office in the 2012 Presidential election. Taking a look at his bank book, he may not be as interested as people think. $100 million looks like a drop of rain in the ocean.

Casino news showed shares in Las Vegas Sands jumping 6 percent on the stock market Monday. Coupled with dividend payouts from some of his many financial assets, Adelson’s net worth spiked by $2.1 billion to $40 billion. To put that into perspective, over the two-day span between the “Adelson primary” and the stock report, he earned $43,750,000 per hour. In just over two hours he earned enough money to match his entire contribution in 2012.

How interested is he, really?

Adelson has declared himself to be the mortal enemy of online casinos in America. He is looking for a Presidential candidate who can help get a federal ban on online gambling through Congress. But considering how wealthy he is, his contributions seem paltry. If he is really so bent on getting a bill through Congress, he should spend more than 1/400th of his net worth, especially considering how quickly it is growing.