Nearly 10,000 of Sheldon Adelson’s employees at Las Vegas Sands casino hotel will see their regular paychecks throughout much, if not all, of the coronavirus pandemic.
The billionaire released an op-ed this week in The New York post imploring any companies that can make the numbers work for at least two months to do likewise because “it’s not only the right thing to do — it’s good business.”
“To my fellow corporate executives who are looking at spreadsheets and trying to determine the impact this crisis will have on sales and share prices, let me say: Our job as business leaders is now as simple as it is challenging,” he wrote Wednesday. “It is to maximize the number of employees and their families that we can help — and help them for as long as possible.”
Mr. Adelson, 86, also recounted his youth and a lesson taught to him by his immigrant father while the family struggled to make ends meet.
“I recall one of the most important lessons I learned from my father,” the philanthropist wrote. “He would come home from work — when he could find work, that is — and put loose change in the family pushke (charity box). When I asked why he would give to others when we had so little, he would say, ’There is always someone whose need is greater than ours.’”
The op-ed also follows his decision to provide upward of 2 million masks for health workers Nevada and New York.
“As an octogenarian, I have seen the perseverance of this country over and over again. The common thread is that this nation and its people always come together in times of great need,” he continued. “There is no doubting this is one of those times, and the need is great. … Let us prove the greatness, compassion and resiliency of this country, once again.”
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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