Miriam Adelson born on October 10, 1945, is an Israeli-American physician, businesswoman, and political donor. She gained prominence through her philanthropy, alongside her late husband, Sheldon Adelson, with the Adelson Foundation, donating hundreds of millions of dollars to Jewish and Israeli causes. She is also a significant supporter of Donald Trump and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2018. After her husband's death in 2021, Miriam inherited the Las Vegas Sands and became the publisher of Israel Hayom. She is the majority owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team and the Las Vegas Review-Journal. As of 2024, her net worth is estimated at $32 billion, ranking her as the 53rd richest person globally and the wealthiest Israeli.

Early Life and Medical Career

Miriam Adelson, born Miriam Farbstein in 1945 in Tel Aviv, Mandatory Palestine, was the daughter of parents who fled Poland before the Holocaust. Her father was a prominent figure in the Mapam political party in Israel, and in the 1950s, her family relocated to Haifa, where he operated several movie theaters.

Adelson attended the Hebrew Reali School for 12 years and served as a medical officer in the Israeli army at Ness Ziona. She then earned a Bachelor of Science in microbiology and genetics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem before graduating magna cum laude from Tel Aviv University Faculty of Medicine.

Born	Miriam Farbstein 10 October 1945 (age 79) Tel Aviv, Mandatory Palestine
Nationality	American , Israeli
Education	Hebrew University of Jerusalem (BS) Tel Aviv University (MD)
Spouse	Ariel Ochshorn ​ (div. 1980)​ Sheldon Adelson ​ ​(m. 1991; died 2021)
Children	5

She worked as a physician and eventually became the chief internist in the emergency room at Tel Aviv’s Rokach (Hadassah) Hospital. After divorcing her first husband, Adelson moved to Rockefeller University in 1986 as an associate physician specializing in drug addiction, where she collaborated for two decades with Mary Jeanne Kreek, renowned for her work on methadone therapy for heroin addiction.

In 1993, she founded a substance abuse center and research clinic, and seven years later, she and her husband Sheldon opened the Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Research Clinic in Las Vegas. Throughout her career, Adelson has published numerous papers on drug addiction and was a guest investigator at Rockefeller University.

Philanthropy

The Adelson family became well-known philanthropists, primarily through the Adelson Foundation, as well as influential political donors. In 2008, they were awarded the Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars of the Smithsonian Institution.

In July 2024, Miriam Adelson donated $3 million to the Israeli volunteer emergency medical services organization United Hatzalah. The donation helped the organization purchase 76 motorcycles and ambulances and two emergency vehicles.

In 2013, she was honored with honorary citizenship of Jerusalem. Adelson also served as one of the finance vice-chairs for Donald Trump's 2017 presidential inauguration. In 2018, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Trump. At a subsequent event in August 2024, Trump praised her, stating, "It’s actually much better because everyone gets the Congressional Medal of Honor, they’re soldiers. They’re either in very bad shape because they’ve been hit so many times by bullets or they’re dead. She gets it, and she’s a healthy, beautiful woman, and they’re rated equal."

Business Ventures

In 2018, Adelson became the publisher of Israel Hayom, the most widely read newspaper in Israel, a position she still holds. Additionally, she serves as a voting member on the board of trustees at the University of Southern California.

After her husband Sheldon Adelson's passing in 2021, Miriam became the owner of Las Vegas Sands, the casino company Sheldon founded. She continues to manage the company, remaining the majority owner, and oversees operations with her family.

On December 27, 2023, the NBA Board of Governors approved the sale of the controlling interest of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team to Adelson and her son-in-law, Patrick Dumont. The Adelson-Dumont families now own 69% of the team, while the previous controlling owner, Mark Cuban, reduced his stake to 27%.