Forbes recently published its World’s Billionaires list and a number of casino tycoons from the US and abroad rank among them.
Despite descending one position in the overall ranking, Sheldon Adelson (pictured), chairman and chief executive of Las Vegas Sands Corp 7BALL CC , ranked 21st among the world’s billionaires in Forbes 2018 World’s Billionaires list.
The soon to be 85-year-old City College of New York drop-out who reportedly has a 69 percent majority stake in the Las Vegas-based company he founded in 1988, has according to Forbes, an estimated net worth of $38.5 billion, a 26.6 percent increase on last year’s estimated net worth of $30.4 billion.
The largest casino company worldwide, in addition to The Palazzo and The Venetian on the Las Vegas Strip, in Asia the company operates the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore and via its majority-owned subsidiary Sands China Ltd., owns several properties in Macau, including The Plaza Macao, The Venetian Macao, Four Seasons Hotel Macao, the Sands Macao on the Macau peninsula and the Four Seasons-branded apartments at the Sands Cotai Central development.
Another U.S. property owned by the company, the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem, located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, will reportedly be sold to the Poarch Band of Creek Indians for approximately $1.3 billion after a deal with MGM Resorts International fell through in May last year.
The next US casino tycoon doesn’t appear on the list until spot number 679 where former chairman and CEO for Wynn Resorts Ltd and Macau casino developer Wynn Macau Ltd, Steve Wynn’s ranking rose by 135 places. With an estimated net worth of $2.5 billion, Wynn’s ex-wife, Elaine Wynn, claims the number 965 ranking on this year’s list.
In addition to Adelson and Wynn, two other billionaires owe a portion of their fortune to Sin City. Ranking 1,103 out of a record 2,208 billionaires on Forbes list, with a net worth of $2.2 billion as on March 11, 2018, brothers Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta made their fortune through mixed martial arts promoter Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). They acquired UFC in 2001 for $2 million and sold it for twice that in 2016 to a WME/IMG-led investment group; selling their remaining stakes in August last year at a $5 billion valuation, according to Forbes.
Founded by their father Frank Fertitta Jr. in 1976, Summerlin, Nevada-based Station Casinos LLC, which includes 19 various sized casinos throughout the Las Vegas Valley and Indian casinos in Northern California and Michigan, is the operating company under Red Rock Resorts Inc. (RRR). Frank Fertitta III is the current CEO of the company that employs more than 12,000 people and has revenues over $1 billion per year. The family took their Red Rock Resorts Inc. (RRR) public in 2016.
With an estimated $20.1 billion, founder and chairman of Macau gaming operator Galaxy Entertainment Group, Lui Che Woo, ranks 50th among the world’s billionaires and second among gaming billionaires.
The third richest gaming billionaire in the world is Austrian gaming equipment maker Novomatic AG founder and CEO, Johann Graf, who is worth an estimated $8.1 billion. Graf ranks 186th on Forbes 2018 World’s Billionaires list.
Also making the list are Macau casino tycoon Stanley Ho Hung Sun’s children, Pansy Ho Chiu King and Lawrence Ho Yau Lung. Pansy, co-chairperson of Macau casino operator MGM China Holdings Ltd, was ranked the fifth-richest person among gaming billionaires and 365th on the overall list with a worth of about $5.3 billion, while 41-year-old brother Lawrence, chairman and chief executive of Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd, is ranked in 965th place and is the youngest gaming executive on the list.
Topping the 2018 list is Jeff Bezos, the founder and CEO of Amazon.com Inc. Bezos is worth staggering $112 billion, up from an estimated $39.2 billion in 2017.