Miriam Adelson

Miriam Adelson is the most focused mega-donor in American politics. While other billionaires spread their money across a portfolio of causes, Adelson has one overriding priority: Israel. And she has been extraordinarily successful at converting political donations into policy outcomes. Born in Tel Aviv in 1945, Miriam Farbstein studied medicine at Hebrew University and became a physician specializing in addiction. She married Sheldon Adelson — the combative casino magnate who built Las Vegas Sands into a global empire — in 1991. For three decades, the Adelsons operated as a political unit: his money, their shared Israel-first ideology, and her quiet but decisive influence on which candidates received their support. When Sheldon died in January 2021 at age 87, Miriam inherited both his $35 billion fortune and his political operation. But she didn't merely continue his work — she escalated it. In the 2024 cycle, Miriam poured $120 million into Preserve America PAC, making it the largest single donation to any Super PAC that year. Every dollar was aimed at one goal: ensuring maximum U.S. support for Israel under a second Trump administration. The return on investment has been extraordinary by any measure. During Trump's first term, the Adelsons' donations correlated with a cascade of pro-Israel policy wins: the U.S. embassy moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem (a decades-long Adelson priority), recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, the Abraham Accords normalizing relations between Israel and Gulf states, and withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal. In the second term, Miriam's influence was reportedly decisive in the appointment of Marco Rubio as Secretary of State — a noted Iran hawk and unwavering Israel ally. The Adelsons' political giving also yielded enormous personal financial benefits. The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which the Adelsons helped fund through campaign donations, saved them an estimated $700 million in taxes — a staggering return on their political investment, even by mega-donor standards. What makes Adelson unusual among mega-donors is the singular clarity of her agenda. She doesn't care about deregulation, crypto policy, or culture war issues. She cares about Israel — specifically, a maximalist vision of U.S.-Israel relations that includes unconditional military support, opposition to Palestinian statehood, and aggressive posture toward Iran. She reportedly pushed for Trump to grant Israel sovereignty over the West Bank. The contradiction in Adelson's story is that she wields enormous influence over U.S. foreign policy without any democratic accountability. She holds no office, faces no confirmation hearings, and answers to no voters. Yet her $500 million in career political spending has arguably shaped U.S. Middle East policy more than most elected officials. She is, in effect, conducting foreign policy through her checkbook — and doing it more effectively than most diplomats. Her late husband received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Trump in 2018. Miriam herself was reportedly offered an ambassadorship, which she declined. She doesn't need a title. The policy outcomes speak for themselves.