American casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, who built lavish gambling palaces that made him one of the world’s richest men and became a potent supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has died at age 87.
Adelson, who headed the world’s largest casino company, Las Vegas Sands, died on Monday night from complications related to treatment for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Las Vegas Sands said in a statement on Tuesday.
“In Las Vegas, Macau and Singapore, Mr. Adelson’s vision for integrated resorts transformed the industry, changed the trajectory of the company he founded, and reimagined tourism in each of those markets,” the company said. “His impact on the industry will be everlasting.”
A combative self-made man raised in a poor Jewish immigrant family in Boston, Adelson established hotels and casinos in Las Vegas, Macau and Singapore.
Formidable figure
His wealth made him a formidable figure in U.S. politics as he bankrolled Republicans including businessman-turned-president Trump and fought Democrats. He also was a prominent supporter of Israel.
“He was an American patriot, a generous benefactor of charitable causes, and a strong supporter of Israel,” former President George W. Bush said in a statement.
Adelson and his Israeli-born physician wife, Miriam, gave more than $123 million US to Republican and conservative causes in the 2018 U.S. midterm congressional elections, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks political spending — more than anyone else.
Dr. Miriam Adelson talks with her husband during a speech by U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence in Las Vegas in 2017. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
The Adelsons were prolific backers of Trump’s 2016 presidential bid, spending $20 million on the campaign and then $5 million more for his inauguration. The casino magnate was in regular contact with Trump after he took office and saw some of his cherished goals relating to Israel come to fruition, including the moving of the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem in a break with decades of American policy. Adelson attended the embassy dedication ceremony in May 2018.
Empire exemplified by Venetian casino
Adelson, a college dropout and the son of a cab driver, was short and stocky, had thinning red hair and in later years used a motorized scooter because of a medical condition that made it difficult to walk. But his appearance belied his clout and drive.
“I know that a lot of people think that guys like me succeed by stepping on the broken backs of employees and other people, but they don’t understand that we, too, have philosophies and ideals that we adhere to very scrupulously,” he said at a Las Vegas event in 2008, according to the New Yorker magazine.
Adelson is pictured attending a presidential debate between Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in Hempstead, N.Y., in 2016. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
His empire in the United States, Macau and Singapore was exemplified by the Venetian resort casino in Las Vegas, which boasted replicas of landmarks from Venice, Italy, like canals, the Rialto Bridge and the bell tower of St. Mark’s Basilica. He filled his gambling hubs with trendy restaurants and shops, making them luxury destinations for business travellers and tourists alike.
In November 2018, Trump awarded Adelson’s wife the highest U.S. civilian honour, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, a move critics assailed as a presidential “thank you” for the couple’s financial backing. During the White House ceremony, Trump hailed the Adelsons for protecting “the sacred heritage of the Jewish faith,” placed the medal around her neck and kissed her on both cheeks.
Close friend of Netanyahu
Adelson also backed Republican president George W. Bush, then poured tens of millions of dollars into failed 2008 and 2012 efforts to defeat Democratic president Barack Obama.
Known for his extensive philanthropy and business ventures in Israel and donations to Jewish causes, Adelson counted the conservative Netanyahu as a close friend. He launched Israel Hayom, a free newspaper, in 2007 and it became the most-read daily in Israel. Critics said it favoured Netanyahu.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu participate in an event at the White House last year as the Adelsons look on. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Adelson wrote in his newspaper in 2012 that Netanyahu was not “my puppet.” He was responding to former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert, who had accused Netanyahu of intervening in a U.S. election by opposing Obama “in the name of an American billionaire [Adelson] with a clear interest in the vote.”
Although initially reluctant to donate to Trump’s presidential bid, he became a Trump backer even as other wealthy Republican donors stayed away. Trump won his first major newspaper endorsement of the 2016 general election when the Adelson-owned Las Vegas Review Journal supported him.
“I’m against very wealthy people attempting to or influencing elections. But as long as it’s doable, I’m going to do it,” Adelson told Forbes magazine in 2012.
Seen as vengeful by detractors
Detractors described Adelson — who engaged in a court battle with his own sons, feuds with former associates and lawsuits against journalists — as vengeful and mean.
“Over time, I observed Mr. Adelson plot vendettas against anyone whom he believed stood in his way. However minuscule the perceived affront, he was certain to go ballistic, using his money and position to bully any ‘opponent’ — great or small — into submission,” Shelley Berkley, who worked for Adelson before serving from 1999 to 2013 as a Democratic U.S. congresswoman from Nevada, wrote in a Las Vegas newspaper in 1998.
Billionaire Sheldon Adelson was influential in Trump’s controversial decision to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, and he also lobbied Trump on the Iran nuclear deal. Turns out Adelson also has a connection to former PM Stephen Harper. The CBC’s Wendy Mesley interviews Ken Vogel, who writes about money and politics for the New York Times. 8:11
Adelson was born in Boston in 1933. At age 12, he began selling newspapers on street corners. By 16, he ran a candy vending-machine business.
Earlier in his business career, Adelson dabbled in entrepreneurial ventures before launching in 1979 a Las Vegas computer trade show that became the world’s biggest. He used its success as a springboard to buy the aging Las Vegas Sands Hotel, then built the largest privately owned U.S. convention centre and later the Venetian.
Defended China’s rulers
Macau, a former Portuguese colony and Hong Kong neighbour known for gambling, reverted to Chinese rule in 1999. Foreign casino companies got their shot after a Hong Kong businessman’s Macau gambling monopoly ended. By 2004 Adelson opened his first casino and Macau later became the world’s top gambling centre. Las Vegas Sands’ initial public offering in December 2004 made him a multibillionaire.
While visiting a Macau casino project in 2007, Adelson defended China’s communist rulers against critics of the Asian giant’s human rights record, including U.S. lawmakers.
VIPs including Adelson cut the ribbon at the opening of the Sands Casino in Macau in 2004. (Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images)
His domain also included the $6 billion Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, which opened in 2010, and a casino in Bethlehem, Penn.
After his first marriage ended, in 1991 Adelson married Miriam Ochshorn, a doctor who specialized in drug addiction treatment. One of Adelson’s sons from his previous marriage, Mitchell, died in 2005 at age 48 of a drug overdose.
TORONTO – Canada Goose Holdings Inc. says it has signed a deal that will result in the creation of its first eyewear collection.
The deal announced on Thursday by the Toronto-based luxury apparel company comes in the form of an exclusive, long-term global licensing agreement with Marchon Eyewear Inc.
The terms and value of the agreement were not disclosed, but Marchon produces eyewear for brands including Lacoste, Nike, Calvin Klein, Ferragamo, Longchamp and Zeiss.
Marchon plans to roll out both sunglasses and optical wear under the Canada Goose name next spring, starting in North America.
Canada Goose says the eyewear will be sold through optical retailers, department stores, Canada Goose shops and its website.
Canada Goose CEO Dani Reiss told The Canadian Press in August that he envisioned his company eventually expanding into eyewear and luggage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Almost seven years since news broke of an alleged conspiracy to fix the price of packaged bread across Canada, the saga isn’t over: the Competition Bureau continues to investigate the companies that may have been involved, and two class-action lawsuits continue to work their way through the courts.
Here’s a timeline of key events in the bread price-fixing case.
Oct. 31, 2017: The Competition Bureau says it’s investigating allegations of bread price-fixing and that it was granted search warrants in the case. Several grocers confirm they are co-operating in the probe.
Dec. 19, 2017: Loblaw and George Weston say they participated in an “industry-wide price-fixing arrangement” to raise the price of packaged bread. The companies say they have been co-operating in the Competition Bureau’s investigation since March 2015, when they self-reported to the bureau upon discovering anti-competitive behaviour, and are receiving immunity from prosecution. They announce they are offering $25 gift cards to customers amid the ongoing investigation into alleged bread price-fixing.
Jan. 31, 2018: In court documents, the Competition Bureau says at least $1.50 was added to the price of a loaf of bread between about 2001 and 2016.
Dec. 20, 2019: A class-action lawsuit in a Quebec court against multiple grocers and food companies is certified against a number of companies allegedly involved in bread price-fixing, including Loblaw, George Weston, Metro, Sobeys, Walmart Canada, Canada Bread and Giant Tiger (which have all denied involvement, except for Loblaw and George Weston, which later settled with the plaintiffs).
Dec. 31, 2021: A class-action lawsuit in an Ontario court covering all Canadian residents except those in Quebec who bought packaged bread from a company named in the suit is certified against roughly the same group of companies.
June 21, 2023: Bakery giant Canada Bread Co. is fined $50 million after pleading guilty to four counts of price-fixing under the Competition Act as part of the Competition Bureau’s ongoing investigation.
Oct. 25 2023: Canada Bread files a statement of defence in the Ontario class action denying participating in the alleged conspiracy and saying any anti-competitive behaviour it participated in was at the direction and to the benefit of its then-majority owner Maple Leaf Foods, which is not a defendant in the case (neither is its current owner Grupo Bimbo). Maple Leaf calls Canada Bread’s accusations “baseless.”
Dec. 20, 2023: Metro files new documents in the Ontario class action accusing Loblaw and its parent company George Weston of conspiring to implicate it in the alleged scheme, denying involvement. Sobeys has made a similar claim. The two companies deny the allegations.
July 25, 2024: Loblaw and George Weston say they agreed to pay a combined $500 million to settle both the Ontario and Quebec class-action lawsuits. Loblaw’s share of the settlement includes a $96-million credit for the gift cards it gave out years earlier.
Sept. 12, 2024: Canada Bread files new documents in Ontario court as part of the class action, claiming Maple Leaf used it as a “shield” to avoid liability in the alleged scheme. Maple Leaf was a majority shareholder of Canada Bread until 2014, and the company claims it’s liable for any price-fixing activity. Maple Leaf refutes the claims.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:L, TSX:MFI, TSX:MRU, TSX:EMP.A, TSX:WN)
TORONTO – TD Bank Group, which is mired in a money laundering scandal in the U.S., says chief executive Bharat Masrani will retire next year.
Masrani, who will retire officially on April 10, 2025, says the bank’s, “anti-money laundering challenges,” took place on his watch and he takes full responsibility.
The bank named Raymond Chun, TD’s group head, Canadian personal banking, as his successor.
As part of a transition plan, Chun will become chief operating officer on Nov. 1 before taking over the top job when Masrani steps down at the bank’s annual meeting next year.
TD also announced that Riaz Ahmed, group head, wholesale banking and president and CEO of TD Securities, will retire at the end of January 2025.
TD has taken billions in charges related to ongoing U.S. investigations into the failure of its anti-money laundering program.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
