2024-02-13

Sheldon Adelson and Las Vegas Sands

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Today, I will write about Sheldon Adelson, his success, and his learning. Sheldon Adelson was born in 1933 in Boston, Massachusetts. His parents were immigrants from Lithuania, and Adelson started his career at 12 selling newspapers. He was a serial entrepreneur, having lost his fortune several times. In 1970, he and several other partners launched, under the Interface Group, COMDEX, a tradeshow for computers and information electronics, even though he had no experience in computers.

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This is how he made his first fortune. In 1989, he bought the Sands hotel and casino from Kirk Kerkorian for $110 million and demolished it in 1996 to build the Las Vegas Venetian. He also sold COMDEX to Masayoshi Son's Softbank in 1999 for a $500 million stake.

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In 2004, Adelson saw Macau as a new opportunity due to him obtaining the first gaming licenses in China. In May 2004, Sands Macao opened, which paid back his investment in less than a year. Other casinos followed in Macau.

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In December 2004, LVS IPO made Adelson one of the world's wealthiest people. In 2010, he built the famous Marina Bay Sands in Singapore for $5.7 billion. Adelson was also famous for being a big Republican donor, with more than $100 million donated in the 2012 election and more than $50 to Donald Trump in 2016, as well as money for the 'War on Drugs'. Adelson died in 2021 leaving behind

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Here are some learnings from Sheldon Adelson that I found throughout researching him and his success:

  1. Do things differently: The only way to get ahead is to do things differently than they were done before, and success will follow you like your shadow. Many people will doubt you, but it's a matter of understanding what an industry does and identifying how to do it differently, as well as being a risk-taker. DON'T BE SATISFIED WITH THE STATUS QUO.
  2. Know how to run a business: Being a businessman is not just about being able to set up one business. It's about being able to set up a business at all times in every era. Kind of like in a matrix, you need to align your skills: hire people, know how to allocate capital, improve operations, acquire capital, set a culture...
  3. Dream: I found this video of Adelson being in Venice, talking about how one of his casinos will look like in Las Vegas. Below you can see a picture of the Las Vegas Venetian, which construction began in 1997. EVERYTHING STARTS WITH A DREAM.
  4. Think Long Term: Always think in the long term. Humans and Wall Street are often judging based on quarters, but instead, they should all be playing the long game.
  5. Be Fearless

Thanks,

Finn