DALLAS — Miriam Adelson, the billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks and the casino company Las Vegas Sands, donated $95 million in the third quarter alone – totaling over $100 million for the year – to the pro-Donald Trump Preserve America PAC, according to a Federal Election Commission (FEC) filing.
Adelson, according to the filing, made four large donations to the Preserve America PAC in July ($25 million), August ($25 million) and September ($25 million and $20 million). Adelson has also contributed $1 million to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s super PAC, the Associated Press reported.
Adelson -- an Israeli, a passionate Zionist and the fifth-richest woman in the world -- has dined with Trump a half dozen times over 2023 and 2024, with much discussion centering around Israel policy and one other's families, according to a New York Times report from June.
Republican strategist Dave Carney, who Adelson tapped to lead the Preserve America PAC, told the New York Times this month "we’re trying to raise more, and Dr. Adelson has been a fund-raising star getting more people on board.”
The $100 million in donations marks more than half of the Dallas Mavericks team payroll, which is reportedly $186 million, according to Spotrac.
The relationship between the Adelsons and Trump dates back to 2015 when Miriam and her late husband Sheldon first sat down with the future president, the Times reported. In that first meeting, the Adelsons pressed Trump on moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which he eventually followed through on. Trump later awarded Adelson the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2018.
In 2020, the Adelsons were the largest donors to Trump's unsuccessful re-election campaign, spending some $75 million in the effort.
Just two years earlier, in 2018, the couple was reported to have spent $113 million in support of Republican causes during the mid-term elections.
The Adelsons also donated $20 million to Trump's first presidential campaign in 2016 after originally throwing their support behind Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida -- a move Trump openly mocked until the Adelsons switched their support to him.
In a 2019, opinion piece written by Adelson for Israel Hayom, the Israeli daily newspaper she owns, she compared Trump to heroes, sages and prophets written about in the Bible.
"Would it be too much to pray for a day when the Bible gets a 'Book of Trump,' much like it has a 'Book of Esther' celebrating the deliverance of the Jews from ancient Persia?" Adelson wrote.
Adelson's political profile has grown greatly in Texas since she and her family purchased majority stake the Mavericks last year from Mark Cuban, and she began increasing her push for legalized gambling in the state, along with a new casino resort in DFW.
"I think the most important thing is that Las Vegas Sands is actively trying to facilitate the development of integrated resorts in the State of Texas and through the liberalization of gaming," Las Vegas Sands Corp. President and Chief Operating Officer Patrick Dumont, Adelson's son-in-law, said during an investor call in January. "Over time, we hope that it happens. I can’t tell you when it’s going to be, but we’re very focused on it as a company, and we like the opportunity to develop some very unique tourism assets, specifically in Dallas."
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