Sheldon Adelson Identified as Buyer of Las Vegas Newspaper
Image by Getty Images
By Josh Nathan-Kazis December 16, 2015
Sheldon Adelson is the mystery purchaser of Nevada’s largest newspaper, according to a report from Fortune magazine.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal was purchased for $140 million in early December by a limited liability corporation that went to unusual lengths to shield the identity of its owner. The strange transaction drew attention from media watchers and political reporters alike, as the paper’s right-leaning editorial page could have a significant impact in Nevada’s early presidential primaries.
As various wealthy billionaires denied having purchased the paper in recent days, suspicion began to settle on Adelson, the billionaire casino magnate, political donor, and owner of Israel Hayom, a hawkish free Israeli daily. Harry Reid, the U.S. Senator from Nevada and senate minority leader, told Politico on December 15 that he suspected Adelson.
The Fortune report, published shortly before 4 PM on December 16, cited unnamed “sources familiar with the situation” confirming that Adelson was the paper’s purchaser.
The Review-Journal itself has yet to identify its new owner. A story published in the paper on December 15 quoted the Society of Professional Journalists, an advocacy group, condemning the new owners for hiding their identities.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
