Chinese Bank Limits ATM Withdraws, Slashing Sheldon Adelson’s Net Worth by $3 Billion
Sheldon Adelson Image by Courtesy of This World
By Nathan Guttman December 9, 2016
There are some things only billionaires can do.
Like losing nearly $3 billion in one day.
That’s exactly what happened to Jewish casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, who woke up Thursday morning to find that his net worth, initially estimated at $28.6 billion, had just dropped by 12.8%.
Wait … What?
The answer, surprisingly, has to do with one Chinese bank’s decision to limit withdrawal from its ATMs in Macau, home to Adelson’s most profitable casinos. China’s UnionPay ATM cards are used by more than half of the Chinese visitors to Macau. The bank decided this week it would impose a ceiling of 5,000 patacas, the Macau currency ($626) for daily withdrawal. The reason behind the move is an attempt to limit flow of cash from mainline China to the Macau enclave.
For Adelson, this move spells bad news. Less money available at the ATM means less money in gamblers’ pockets, and lower revenues for the casino.
The good news for Adelson?
Even after the plunge he is still one of the richest people in the world.
Contact Nathan Guttman at [email protected] or on Twitter @nathanguttman
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Dive In
-
Fast Forward A ‘Golden Dome for America,’ inspired by Israel, is part of Trump’s 2026 budget request
-
Fast Forward Halal restaurant opening in Congress is like ‘Muslim conquest of Jerusalem,’ says GOP congressman
-
Fast Forward Germany formally classifies far-right AfD party as extremist, in blow to Nazi-linked populist movement
-
Fast Forward Trump taps shock jock Sid Rosenberg and a Haredi newspaper publisher for Holocaust Memorial Council
Most Popular
- 1
Fast Forward Why the Antisemitism Awareness Act now has a religious liberty clause to protect ‘Jews killed Jesus’ statements
- 2
News School Israel trip turns ‘terrifying’ for LA students attacked by Israeli teens
- 3
Fast Forward The invitation said, ‘No Jews.’ The response from campus officials, at least, was real.
- 4
News Why Zohran Mamdani believes he’ll win over Jewish voters, as Israel critic surges to second behind Cuomo in NYC mayoral race
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward A ‘Golden Dome for America,’ inspired by Israel, is part of Trump’s 2026 budget request
-
Books How Jews shaped the Western – and how the Western shaped Jews
-
Culture Cardinals are Catholic not Jewish — so why do they all wear yarmulkes?
-
Fast Forward Halal restaurant opening in Congress is like ‘Muslim conquest of Jerusalem,’ says GOP congressman
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.