Politics
REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
Gambling giant Las Vegas Sands Corp's Chief Executive Sheldon Adelson.
A GOP mega-donor says he is willing to heavily bankroll Donald Trump's presidential campaign.
Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire CEO of the Las Vegas Sands Corp., told Trump in a private meeting last week that he was willing to commit more funds to Trump's campaign than he ever has to any previous campaign - to the tune of $100 million, according to The New York Times.
Because that amount exceeds the limit any individual can donate to a single candidate, Adelson would have to set up a super PAC to funnel the funds into Trump's campaign.
Adelson had previously contributed a small sum to Ted Cruz's campaign during the primaries, and had been reluctant to donate more to the party after spending hundreds of millions of dollars on failed Republican candidates in 2012.
Signficantly, Adelson said he would scale back his donations to congressional Republicans and put all his money into Trump's campaign, two Republican sources told The New York Times off the record.
Trump had previously relied on his own personal wealth for campaign funding. Adelson's money is sure to give him a boost moving into the general election.
Adelson endorsed Trump on Friday in an op-ed for The Washington Post.
"You may not like Trump's style or what he says on Twitter, but this country needs strong executive leadership more today than at almost any point in its history," Adelson wrote.
Adelson highlighted Trump's experience as a CEO of Trump Organization, and said that he has "created a movement in this country that cannot be denied."