The Big Winner

July 3rd, 2008 by admin

The New Yorker has a long, long, long profile on billionaire Sheldon Adelson:
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/06/30/080630fa_fact_bruck?currentPage=all

The article focuses mainly on the political intrigue surrounding Adelson’s involvement with political action groups that seek to influence foreign policy as it relates to the USA and Israel. What grabbed my interest, however, were the paragraphs that focus on Adelson’s musings on success and the meaning of life.

Here are my favorite quotes and excerpts:

“In my sixty-three years in business, in over fifty different businesses, I’ve broken the mold and changed the status quo”

…

He attended a trade school to become a court reporter, and when he joined the Army, three and a half years out of high school, that was his assignment. He told the audience at the Venetian that it was then that his commitment to helping others crystallized. “I know that a lot of people think that guys like me succeed by stepping on the broken backs of employees and other people,” Adelson said, “but they don’t understand that we, too, have philosophies and ideals that we adhere to very scrupulously.”

…

He imagined himself at a “corned-beef soirée,” trying to figure out why he was here on earth. First, he thought it was to feel good, but then he decided that that was too selfish. What about helping others? “If I make other people feel good, I feel good!” He added, “I literally, mentally, went like”—he paused, brushing his hands together in a dismissive gesture—“it’s over with! I don’t have to think about that issue ever again in my life.”

Excellent words of wisdom.