Sheldon Adelson

Net Worth $20.5 billion
Source Las Vegas Sands (quote: LVS), Gambling /Leisure, Self made
Age 73
Hometown Las Vegas
Education City College of New York, Drop Out

Son of a Boston cabdriver borrowed $200 from his uncle to sell newspapers at age 12. Made first fortune in trade shows. Created computer industry's premier show, Comdex, mid-1980s; ran 70% profit margin renting space for 15 cents a square foot and leasing it to exhibitors for up to $40 a square foot. Sold show to Japan's Softbank for $862 million in 1995. Then Las Vegas: bought old Sands casino for $128 million, demolished it to build the $1.5 billion all-suites Venetian casino resort and the 1.2-million-square foot Sands Convention Center. Changed the way Vegas does business by enticing conventioneers to Sin City midweek, taking emphasis off gambling. Sold suites for $250 a night, added high-end retailers, celebrity-chef restaurants. Took Las Vegas Sands public December 2004; stock up 135% since. Big bet on Asia: opened $265 million Sands Macau casino May 2004, recouped entire investment in one year. His home is pictured below: