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Adelsons Donate $70 Million to Help Connect Young Jews to Israel

Adelsons Donate $70 Million to Help Connect Young Jews to Israel

(Bloomberg) -- Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman Sheldon Adelson and his wife Miriam pledged $70 million to the Birthright Israel Foundation, a nonprofit that funds trips to Israel for young Jewish adults.

The couple announced the gift at a gala Sunday marking the 18th anniversary of Birthright Israel. More than 600,000 people have participated in the program since 2000.

Adelsons Donate $70 Million to Help Connect Young Jews to Israel

“Before Israel was founded, my father always said he wished there was a place where Jewish people could live," said Sheldon Adelson, the world’s 20th-richest person, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. "He always wanted to go, but by the time I could send him, he said he was too old and too sick. I don’t want any kid to say they were too old or too sick to visit Israel."

The contribution brings the total amount the Adelsons have given to Birthright Israel to $410 million.

To contact the reporter on this story: Amanda Gordon in New York at agordon01@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Pierre Paulden at ppaulden@bloomberg.net, Peter Eichenbaum, Steven Crabill

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