Sheldon Adelson, with his wife, Miriam, talks with then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson before a 2017 speech by President Trump at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.
Evan Vucci/AP Casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, one of the most prolific donors in conservative politics, died Monday night at the age of 87 due to complications from treatment for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, according to a statement from Las Vegas Sands, the company he founded.
He was in the first wave of superwealthy Americans to take advantage of the Supreme Court's controversial Citizens United ruling, which opened the doors to eight- and nine-figure political donations so long as the money goes to independent superPACs and not candidates or party committees.
"I think if you had to single out one individual who brought that kind of component to the city, it would be Sheldon Adelson," said Sig Rogich, a longtime Las Vegas communications consultant.
But after early reservations, the Adelsons backed Trump's 2016 election effort; they gave $5 million to his inaugural committee and then donated about $500,000 to the legal defense fund for his White House aides.
Adelson continued to support Trump in his reelection bid, though about a week after the election, his newspaper's editorial board said the defeated president was trying to "delay the inevitable."
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