Bigger You Think

Sheldon Adelson’s posthumous memoir is a fitting tribute to an outsized personality: an inspirational guide to success in business, politics, philanthropy—and life.

When Sheldon Adelson died in 2021, he left behind a sprawling business empire worth hundreds of billions of dollars. His career as a philanthropist, political activist, and supporter of Israel were no less legendary. Now, in this memoir based on recorded interviews, the late business visionary tells in his own voice the remarkable story of his rags-to-riches rise from penniless newsie to resort hotel and entertainment titan.

Born in 1933 to immigrant parents in a rough-and-tumble Boston neighborhood where he literally had to fight his way to school, Sheldon was imbued from the beginning with a strong Jewish identity, self-reliance, pragmatism, and deep loyalty to family and friends. Using money scraped together selling papers, he launched a series of small businesses that taught him the fundamentals of entrepreneurship even before he knew the word. At every step, he innovated, approaching each new venture with an inveterate outsider’s perspective that enabled him to see opportunities where others could only see obstacles.

Though frequently described as a casino mogul, Sheldon actually backed into the business through a successful career as a tour packager, conventioneer, and hotel builder, along the way developing a unique resort concept that combined business travel with luxury accommodation, shopping, entertainment, and gambling. In the process, he transformed Las Vegas and went on to reshape the skylines of Macau and Singapore.

Few business memoirs convey as this one does the sheer exuberance of using one’s creative gifts to build, expand, and innovate. It also shows a warm, human side of the hard-driving businessman that few have seen. Above all, it is a touching love story that celebrates the unique partnership he formed with his wife, Dr. Miriam Adelson, who helped him expand his philanthropic activities to include medical research and support for Israel.