Global financial storms threaten empire of Jewish billionaire, philanthropist Adelson

Billionaire businessman and philanthropist Sheldon Adelson, listed prior to the global financial crisis as the third wealthiest man in America, is in talks with officials in Singapore and with banks in Hong Kong and Macao as mounting cash-flow difficulties at Las Vegas Sands threaten to torpedo $16 billion worth of casino projects in Asia - and possibly the very existence of his gambling empire.

Since the crisis hit, Adelson has lost at least half of his reported $28 billion fortune - on paper - as the value of his gambling empire Las Vegas Sands was whipped by the global financial tempest. Adelson has lost at least $16 billion - on paper - as the value of his gambling empire Las Vegas Sands is whipped by the global financial tempest.

Adelson has been a major contributor to Jewish causes, notably Birthright Israel, which sponsors free trips to Israel for Jews ages18-26 who have never been to the Jewish state. In September, the Forward newspaper reported that was reducing his donations to Birthright Israel in 2009 and 2010, respectively, to $20 million and $10 million, after giving $70 million over the previous two years.

The global losses notwithstanding, Adelson's newspaper in Israel, Yisrael Hayom, appears not in danger. The newspaper, distributed free of charge at train and bus stations at other locations, appears to be unaffected by Adelson's woes. Yisrael Hayom commented that Adelson's investments in the paper "continue as planned." If anything, the paper says, it's hiring. "The newspaper is about to expand again, in the course of which it will be publishing a weekend edition," Yisrael Hayom said yesterday. That will require additional investment and manpower, the paper said.

The paper has made his name well-known in Israeli circles. Adelson has also been in on-again off-again negotiations to buy the national daily newspaper Maariv.

LVS lost more than 80% of its market value in October alone, reducing Adelson's personal fortune from LVS to a billion dollars or less, again - on paper. (Which means, he hasn't locked in his loss by selling his shares at their present low market value.)

The value of other assets he owns outside of LVS is not known. But at least one asset he owns, Yisrael Hayom,

A source close to Adelson said he is a very wealthy man irrespective of the state of his gambling business. Moreover, his aim was never to profit from owning a newspaper in Israel, the source added. Yisrael Hayom is unlikely to suffer from Adelson's present troubles, said the source.

Meanwhile, Yisrael Hayom plans to challenge Israel's established press via a new campaign calling on them to publish their circulation figures. The reasoning behind this is assessments that the crisis is causing advertisers to doubt the veracity of the figures the papers give them, said the source.

Meanwhile, LVS advised last week that it may find itself in breach of financial covenants and its auditors, PricewaterhouseCoopers, warned that if the company defaults, creditors may call in loans that imperil LVS' very existence.

In a spiral fueled by fear that LVS may not survive as a going concern, its stock fell 52% inside a week. In its fight for survival, LVS hired a new chief financial officer on Friday. Kenneth Kay, from 2002 the finance chief at real estate firm CB Richard Ellis Group, takes over on December 1.

Sands' chief problem is that as its name unfortunately hints, its foundation is ephemeral. With recession looming large, people are less willing to gamble.

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