Sheldon Adelson, boss of Marina Bay Sands, dies at 87

Sheldon Adelson, who built the largest casino company in the world and used his wealth to support Republican candidates and groups, has died. He was 87.

Adelson died on Jan 11 night from complications related to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Las Vegas Sands Corp. said in a statement Tuesday. Adelson took a leave of absence earlier this month to continue treatment for the disease.

A Boston cabdriver’s son, Adelson made his first fortune in trade shows, founding what would become the computer industry’s largest event, Comdex, and selling it to Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp. for about US$800 million ($1.07 billion) in 1995. He plowed the profits into casinos, first in Las Vegas and then in Asia where he helped turn the former Portuguese colony of Macau into the world’s biggest gambling market.