Businessman Sheldon Adelson Announces Plan to Pay Workers for 2 Months, Urges Others to Follow Lead

Sheldon Adelson, CEO of Las Vegas Sands, listens to President Donald Trump address the Israeli American Council National Summit 2019 at the Diplomat Beach Resort in Hollywood, Florida, on Dec. 7, 2019. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Business mogul Sheldon Adelson will pay workers for two months despite his businesses being closed amid the COVID-19 pandemic, he announced this week.

Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands resort-hotels are shut down but he said he’s still paying every one of his nearly 10,000 workers as though they were still working.

“I hope to do that right up until the time that we can reopen our businesses. It’s not only the right thing to do—it’s good business,” he wrote in an op-ed in the New York Post.

The 86-year-old has a net worth of 27.9 billion.

Adelson recounted growing up poor and said he didn’t want his workers wondering where their family’s next meal would come from. He praised President Donald Trump, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom for “taking decisive actions” during the pandemic before urging fellow corporate executives to step up and follow his lead.

“The coming weeks will be tough, and the months that follow will be unsteady. To my fellow business leaders, let us lead by example. I will gladly participate in an ongoing discussion with each of you on ways we can work together to protect this nation’s workforce. Let us prove the greatness, compassion and resiliency of this country, once again,” he wrote.

Adelson, who donates to the Republican party and candidates, also had two million masks produced in China, along with 20,000 protective suits, and said he would donate them to hospitals in New York and Nevada.

An exterior view shows guest rooms at Wynn Las Vegas in Nevada on March 31, 2020. Ethan Miller/Getty Images

“Hopefully our donations will help protect people on the front lines so they can continue their invaluable work, and we can start to see the numbers of people affected begin to diminish,” Adelson said in a statement.

Wynn Resorts, owned by Steve Wynn, announced on Wednesday it would pay all employees through May 15 for a total of 60 days of payroll continuance.

“It is our shared responsibility to follow the direction of health and safety professionals to stay home, and limit social contact,” said Wynn Resorts CEO Matt Maddox in a statement. “We owe it to each other, our families and to our community.”

Other moguls have helped contribute to the CCP virus response effort. Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon and one of the richest men in the world, said on Thursday he'd donate $100 million to food banks across the United States.

COVID-19 is a disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as novel coronavirus.

“Even in ordinary times, food insecurity in American households is an important problem, and unfortunately COVID-19 is amplifying that stress significantly,” Bezos said a statement. “Millions of Americans are turning to food banks during this time.”