Adelson vs Alekperov
Las Vegas Sands and Lukoil.
The differences
- Forbes puts Miriam Adelson about $1.5B ahead of Vagit Alekperov.Forbes figures from 9 Oct 2026 and 9 Oct 2026.
- Miriam Adelson: through marriage. Vagit Alekperov: founded it.
- Miriam Adelson is about 5 years older than Vagit Alekperov.
- Miriam Adelson is from United States; Vagit Alekperov is from Russia.
- Vagit Alekperov has held a public or government advisory role; Miriam Adelson has none on record.
Put someone else on either side
Side by side
Adelson
AlekperovThe money
- Net worth, Forbes
- $31BForbes, 9 Oct 2026
- $29.5BForbes, 9 Oct 2026
- Net worth, Bloomberg
- Not stated
- $25.5BBloomberg, 8 Oct 2025
- Forbes rank
- No. 71Real-Time list, 9 Oct 2026
- No. 78Real-Time list, 9 Oct 2026
- Billionaire since
- Not stated
- Not stated
Where it came from
- How it started
- Through marriageWidow of Sheldon Adelson, who founded Las Vegas Sands and died in 2021; she and her family own more than half of the company
- Founded itIn 1991 he took three large ministry-controlled oil fields and set up Lukoil
- Main source
- Las Vegas Sands stockBloomberg: her biggest asset is a half-stake in Las Vegas Sands; it also counts the Dallas Mavericks and cash
- Lukoil stock and dividendsBloomberg: most of his fortune is a 28.3% Lukoil stake; he has collected more than $13 billion in dividends
- Companies
- Las Vegas SandsLas Vegas Sands: Majority shareholder with her family
- LukoilLukoil: Founder; no executive or board role
- Biggest stake
- Las Vegas Sands52.7% owned
- Lukoil8.6% owned
The person
- Born
- 10 Oct 1945Tel Aviv, then British Mandate of Palestine (now Israel)
- 1950Baku, Azerbaijan
- Country
- United StatesLives in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
- RussiaLives in Moscow, Russia
- Education
- Graduate degreeMD, Tel Aviv University's Sackler Faculty of Medicine; BSc in microbiology and genetics, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
- Graduate degreeMaster of science in engineering, Azerbaijan Institute of Oil and Chemistry (1974)
- Parents
- Her parents left Poland in the 1930s; her father, Simcha Farbstein, joined a kibbutz before the family settled in Haifa
- Youngest of five children; his father, an oil worker, died when he was 3
What they give
- Giving Pledge
- Not a signer
- Not a signer
- Foundation
- Adelson Family FoundationEstablished in 2007 by Miriam and Sheldon Adelson
- Our Future FoundationSet up and financed by him; makes interest-free loans to social enterprises
- Lifetime giving
- Not stated
- Not stated
Role and record
- Role now
- OwnerMajority shareholder of Las Vegas Sands and the Dallas Mavericks with her family; publisher of Israel Hayom
- Founder, no executive roleLukoil shareholder; left the presidency and board in April 2022
- Successor
- Her son-in-law Patrick Dumont became chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands on 1 March 2026
- Vadim Vorobyev, first executive vice president, was named temporary president of Lukoil in April 2022
- Public office
- None found
- Soviet deputy minister overseeing the oil industrybefore 1991
- Legal record
- None found
- 2022: UK government; 2025: UK Companies HouseSanctioned by the UK in April 2022; he stepped down as Lukoil president days later. Disqualified from acting as a company director from 9 April 2025 as a person designated under UK sanctions (UK sanctions list reference RUS1334).
