Dr Miriam Adelson, the widow of Las Vegas Sands founder Sheldon Adelson, continues to lead the way for the global gaming industry according to the Forbes annual World’s Billionaires List for 2023.
The 77-year-old ranks 35th on this year’s list with a fortune of US$35 billion, enough to see her rise 15 places after ranking 50th in 2022 with estimated wealth of US$27.5 billion.
While Sheldon Adelson passed away in 2021 at the age of 87, Dr Adelson still holds a controlling 53.7% stake in Las Vegas Sands, which operates Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands and five casino-resorts in Macau via Sands China. The company sold off its Las Vegas assets early last year for US$6.25 billion.
Also appearing inside the top 200 on this year’s list is Galaxy Entertainment Group Chairman Lui Che Woo, who comes in at #128 with US$13.9 billion to his name. Like Adelson, Lui has risen through the ranks over the past 12 months, up from #166 in 2022 when his fortune totalled US$11.6 billion.
Carl Icahn, the US financier who has long traded into and out of Nevada casino stocks – most recently with Caesars Entertainment, ranks 94th with a fortune of US$17.5 billion.
Topping this year’s list for the very first time is French luxury goods titan Bernard Arnault with an estimated net worth of US$211 billion. This, Forbes said, comes on the back of a banner year at LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton. He unseats Elon Musk, who drops to the second spot with an estimated net worth of US $180 billion – some US$39 billion less than a year ago following his highly publicized takeover of Twitter and plummeting shares in Tesla.
Forbes said the number of billionaires around the globe fell again to 2,640 in 2023, down from 2,668 last year. Their combined wealth has also fallen from US$12.7 trillion to US$12.2 trillion.
The United States boasts the most billionaires with 735 members on the Forbes list, followed by China – including Hong Kong and Macau – with 562 and India with 169.
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