Remember Sheldon Adelson, the Las Vegas casino billionaire who was a power player–(cough, cough major donor)–in Republican politics and is now pushin’ up daisies because he died nearly two years ago? Well, he’ll be happy to know that his widow, Miriam, is using some of the billions he left her to buy the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, reportedly buying a majority share of the club from fellow billionaire Mark Cuban, according to Yahoo Sports.
Adelson, whose late husband was the founder of the Sands International entertainment empire and worth an estimated $30 billion at the time of death, will pay $2 billion to take control of the NBA team from Cuban, who paid $285 million for the franchise in 2000. She inherited 56% ownership in Sands International when her husband died, worth about $19 billion before trading shares to buy the club.
The club was valued at an estimated value of $3.5 billion for this transaction, slightly lower than many estimates of the Mavericks’ value. The transaction fits Cuban’s vision of moving the franchise to an arena within a casino resort when its current lease is up, and partnering with the Adelson empire may push that goal. Better a franchise than a politician, I s’pose.