About
Miriam Adelson, an Israeli-American physician, was married to the late casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, one of the top donors to Republican campaigns over the past decade. In that period, the couple donated more than $500 million to help shape the GOP, according to Politico. The Adelsons gave most to federal candidates, party organizations, and super PACs in three of the last five elections, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
As of mid December 2022, Adelson ranked 41st on Forbes list of the top billionaires worldwide. She is a staunch supporter of Israel and during the Trump administration, reportedly endorsed moving the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and withdrawing from the Iran nuclear arms agreement.
Adelson supports militaristic groups such as the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, the Israeli American Council, United Against Nuclear Iran, and the Zionist Organization of America. Over the years, the couple also contributed tens of millions of dollars to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, but cut off their support in 2007 when the organization backed an economic aid package for Palestinians.
The Adelsons were consistently the largest donors to the Republican Jewish Coalition, a conservative, pro-Israel lobbying group, with Sheldon serving on RJC’s board before he died in 2021. During the 2020 presidential election cycle, two separate Republican Jewish PACs spent roughly $10 milion in an effort to persuade Jewish voters in swing states such as Florida and Pennsylvania to vote for Trump and other GOP candidates.
In 2018, Trump awarded Miriam Adelson the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
The Big Lie
- The Adelsons donated more than $190 million to politicians who made unsubstantiated claims of fraud and denied the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election.
- In 2020, Miriam and Sheldon Adelson each donated $35 million to the Senate Leadership Fund (SLF), a super PAC tied to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
- In 2020, the Adelsons contributed $50 million to the Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF) super PAC.
- According to OpenSecrets, Miriam and Sheldon Adelson donated $524.6 million to Republican candidates in the 2020 campaign cycle.
- The couple donated $90 million to Trump’s Preserve America super PAC, making them its top donors.
- The Adelsons donated $ 1 million to the Security is Strength PAC founded by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).
- In 2018, the couple donated $10 million to America First Action, which ended up being one of the largest donors to the 147 congressional Republicans who voted to overturn the results of the 2020 election on Jan. 6, 2021.
- The Adelsons funded many other PACs and organizations that supported election deniers, including the Ending Spending Action Fund, the National Republican Congressional Committee, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the New Republican PAC, and the Republican Jewish Committee Victory Fund.