Adelson among ‘greatest living business minds,’ Forbes says

Sheldon Adelson

Las Vegas Sands chairman and chief executive officer, Sheldon Adelson has been featured in Forbes magazine’s special centennial issue, which was released this week, as one of “The World’s 100 Greatest Living Business Minds”.

In celebration of its 100th anniversary, Forbes magazine’s collector’s edition features essays, lessons, and ideas from today’s most influential business leaders around the world for the next 100 years.

“My business career has spanned more than seven decades and more than 50 different businesses, and I’m proud for that work to be honored, especially with such a distinguished group of individuals,” Adelson said, as quoted in a Las Vegas Sands press release. “As an entrepreneur, I never thought about doing what was popular. Instead, I’ve always approached situations – whether in business or philanthropy – to look at how I could be transformative by challenging and changing the status quo. That’s been my mantra all of these years, and I’m honored that Forbes believes that my entrepreneurial ways are worthy of distinction,” he added.

In developing the list of 100 individuals, Forbes sought people who had either created something with a lasting impact on the world or innovated in a way that transcends their given field.

In the Forbes report, Adelson mentions the expansion of his company to Macau: “Las Vegas had been successful in the United States, but China had a billion more people in it. Why not rebuild the Las Vegas Strip there? Everyone else in the gambling industry thought it was the dumbest idea ever. I charged ahead in Macau anyways. Now all the naysayers would cut off their right arm to get a piece of land there. I’ve got a warehouse full of right arms, and a couple of left ones, too.”

Forbes list includes names like Giorgio Armani, Jeff Bezos, Bono, Mark Zuckerberg and Donald Trump. Forbes magazine editor, Randall Lane, said that the magazine’s editorial team spent over two years creating the list. “These are the doers who have created, disrupted and innovated on a collectively historic scale. Honorees were required to actively participate in the project – all essays are original, wisdom is from the list- makers themselves,” he said.