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Manhattan Diary by Cahir O'Doherty

Billionaire Sheldon Adelson to invest $100 million in Mitt Romney's run

Posted on Saturday, June 16, 2012 at 11:05 AM

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When the Mitt Romney race is over one thing more than any other will probably define it: billionaires.

The Romney campaign is just lousy with them. On Thursday Forbes reported that the latest player, billionaire Vegas casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, has vowed to spend $100 million dollars of his own money to get Mitt Romney elected. Possibly even more. He will do 'whatever it takes' to defeat Obama, he told Forbes.

Sheldon Adelson is the seventh richest man in the U.S. and the fourteenth richest man in the world. On the 'World Billionaires' list, he's just a hair behind Tea Party shadow leader David Koch.

'No price is too high' to protect the U.S. from what he sees as Obama’s 'socialization' of America, as well as securing the safety of Israel, Adelson says. Adelson, 78, added that he considers this to be the most important election of his lifetime.

When you're that rich you have a lot of pearls to clutch, I guess. Wouldn't you know Adelson was a huge Scott Walker backer during the Wisconsin recall (he sent a cool $250,000 Walker's way). Adelson loathes unions, any unions, apparently.

Among the highlights of an article called Why GOP Mega-Donor Sheldon Adelson Is Mad, Bad and a Danger to the Republic, Rolling Stone wrote: 'Adelson told the Wall Street Journal radical Islam and the right to more easily join a union were the two most 'fundamental threats to society.'

Rolling Stone added: 'He usually ambles around with an armed former agent of the Mossad, Israel's spy agency.' And another illuminating nugget was: 'Sheldon Adelson simply loves to sue – over 150 lawsuits in Clark County in ten years alone, including against his own sons.'

On March 22 Adelson hosted a dinner at his home that was stuffed with Mitt Romney supporters, including the RNC chairman with the name that suggests he was always going to be RNC chairman, Reince Preibus.

$100 million dollars can buy you clout. You may even be able to buy a presidential election with it. This is the brave new era of the Supreme Court's Citizens United verdict after all, when billionaires can effectively drown out everyone else's voice and Supreme Court justices themselves can shout 'You lie!' at the president.

In this brave new era Romney's candidacy is being defined by wealth, and by blatantly political rulings in his party's favor, and that's why there are untapped millions in cold hard cash just waiting to be spent in that mission. It's David and Goliath, with plutocrats.

That's why I wouldn't make a $10,000 bet on live TV that Romney can't go all the way now, with that kind of backing. Robber barons and rich men usually get what they want. And they don't sink $100 million without the certainty of a return.

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eiriamach | Jun 24, 2012, 07:28 PM EDT

The truth is beginning to creep out. Yesterday's NY Times editorial analyzed the three-fold return that Adelson expects on his investment in Romney. 1) No Palestinian state. Romney has already said that the Palestinians have rejected the two-state solution, and Adelson has called the Palestinian prime minister a terrorist. 2) Adelson pays a corporate tax rate of 9.8 percent (the established corporate rate is 35 percent) because 90 percent of his corporate income is from Las Vegas Sands Corporation, which owns hotels and casinos in low-tax Singapore and no-tax Macau. Adelson worries that Obama is a socialist (LOL) who will raise Adelson's tax rate. 3) Adelson wants Romney to stop the administration's Dept. of Justice investigation of Adelson’s Macau operations under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Law enforcement-- it's such an annoyance to multi-billionaire's that its worth $100 million to shut it down!

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boydshield | Jun 19, 2012, 06:05 PM EDT

You go, Sheldon. Only wish I could donate as much to Mitt.

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TheOldPerfessor | Jun 19, 2012, 06:23 AM EDT

"Invest" is the key word here.

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Bythebay | Jun 18, 2012, 08:26 PM EDT

So what happened, Obama gave up on the people paying for the campaign. He was collecting dollars the last time from millions of people. Now he's going to $40,000 a plate dinners for himself. No more power to the people, not it's power to the monied.

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BrianO | Jun 18, 2012, 03:43 PM EDT

Mcnamara, you say this like I care who spends what for who. People spend their money for whom they wish. I like to point out that the left profits by the procedures they rail against. I suppose you can fool all the people all the time, at least all of the leftists, anyways, good luck in your delusions.

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BulldogMania | Jun 18, 2012, 02:16 PM EDT

I love it! For decades we listened to the labor unions promote their pathetic leftist candidates. Now we can hear from the pro-business side of the equation. Of course the left is free to spend this kind of money too...you mean there aren't any leftist billionaires? Hmmmmmmm, what does that say about which party has the better ideas for wealth creation and a stronger economy.

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Bythebay | Jun 18, 2012, 12:14 PM EDT

Further deterioration of the US. The Presidency goes to the one who pays the most. No wonder its world stature is in the pits.

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McNamara31 | Jun 18, 2012, 12:10 PM EDT

BrianO Facts are (and you can look it up) Republican Super Pac's including Karl Rove's American Croosroads and the Koch brothers will raise 1 Billion dollars from their corporate contributors.The Super Pac money has taken away the voice of the American people and basically bought Romney his place in this election.When Obama originally ran in 2008 the vast majority of his contributions were raised by small donors under $200 hundred dollars.This is becoming a race where corporate donors (wanting further deregulation) will buy the election.

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hollabackgurl | Jun 18, 2012, 11:21 AM EDT

I don't like the idea of a billionaire spending 100 million dollars on Mitt Romeny's campaign to encourage him to take the United States to war over Israel. Or smash the few remaining rights US workers have. It's that simple.

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BrianO | Jun 18, 2012, 11:01 AM EDT

George soros #1 hedge fund manager, 20 billion dollar net worth, but he managed to acquire it, it is his money.

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hollabackgurl | Jun 18, 2012, 09:38 AM EDT

Excuse me, $100 million dollars. This kind of spend leaves Soros in the dust, so that comparison won't wash. Besides, he invests in progressive cause and ALL Adelson wants to do is smash the unions and bolster Israel. His agenda is to protect a foreign nation at whatever cost to our own.

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hollabackgurl | Jun 18, 2012, 09:34 AM EDT

$100,000 dollars IS a lot to spend if you're not expecting a return: war with Iran?

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BrianO | Jun 17, 2012, 11:19 PM EDT

Gates, Soros, Buffet, then the lesser tier hanks, robbins, roberts clooney, But they earned their money and they want to support obama that's their business.

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jamthecat | Jun 17, 2012, 10:48 PM EDT

Yeah, pay for politicians instead of build jobs in America. That's the rich for you.

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eiriamach | Jun 17, 2012, 06:02 PM EDT

And I'd like to know from mayskemp when Obama gave a "ree lunch" to people who "do nothing to help themselves." Example, please? And on mayskemp's idea of the American Dream: does it mean acquiring great wealth by buying businesses, extracting money from them after loading them with debt, and then putting them into bankruptcy, regardless of how many workers lose their jobs? I would have thought that Obama, despite his wealth being much, much less than Romney's, illustrates the American Dream. mayskemp seems to think that the American Dream means becoming super rich. Is that it?

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