Casino Giant Adelson Loses a Fortune, Has Another Fortune Left

Adelson, a self-made man whose first major success was running the Comdex computer trade shows in the '80s, became

The bad news for Sheldon Adelson is that he's lost over $15 billion in paper worth in the last few months, as his Las Vegas Sands feels the effects of bear markets around the globe. The good news is that Adelson is still worth $17 billion, good enough to keep him in third place among richest American citizens, behind only Bill Gates and Warren Buffet.

Adelson, a self-made man whose first major success was running the Comdex computer trade shows in the '80s, became "richer faster than anyone in history," according to Peter Bernstein, co-author of the book "All the Money in the World", a study of the men who comprise the Forbes 400.

While Adelson's partners (and childhood friends) in Comdex decided to relax and enjoy their riches following the sale of the convention business to Softbank of Japan for $862 million in 1995, Adelson was driven to strive for even more.

The group had purchased the Sands Casino Hotel and Resort to locate their expanding convention business from MGM tycoon Kirk Kerkorian. Adelson borrowed hundreds of millions more to implode the Sands and erect the Venetian Casino Resort and Hotel, completed in 1999. The Venetian quickly became the second most profitable Vegas casino, only trailing the Bellagio; and a new business model was formed, as the Venetian accounted for only a third of revenue from gambling and the casino floor.

Las Vegas Sands became a publicly held company at the end of 2004, and Adelson found his fortune more than doubled over the next two years.

Now, as investments are viewed ever more conservatively, some feel Adelson may have overextended himself with his casinos in Macau, where Sands already has two casinos and has commitments for another $12 billion in hotel and casino projects in both Macau and Singapore. Still, whether one is a gambler on the casino floor, an investment counselor considering risks, or another of the gambling world's top players, it would be smart to remember no one has become rich betting against Sheldon Adelson.