Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stands next to Miriam Adelson as they attend the inauguration ceremony before Donald Trump is sworn in as the 47th US President in the US Capitol Rotunda in Washington, DC, Jan. 20, 2025. (Saul Loeb/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
(JTA) — Viewers tuning in early to broadcasts of Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony on Monday could catch a glimpse of a woman with long white hair standing next to Hillary Clinton and speaking animatedly with Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles.
The woman was Miriam Adelson, the pro-Israel megadonor who helped propel Trump to both electoral wins and who is hosting an inaugural ball Monday night alongside Mark Zuckerberg, the Meta CEO who has more recently engaged with Trump.
Adelson, 79 who stepped back during the inauguration itself is a major funder of pro-Israel politics and a prolific donor to Jewish causes, carrying on a legacy she built with her late husband, casino magnate Sheldon Adelson. The Adelson family has long been one of the largest sources of campaign money for Republican candidates and has backed Trump during each of the last three general elections. Now, the widow is wielding an estimated net worth of $35 billion on her own. She has carried on her late husband’s politics, though she is seen as more deliberate in her decision-making.
Adelson gave Trump’s campaign at least $100 million in October, making her the third biggest donor to his campaign, after Elon Musk, who is playing a key role in the administration, and the reclusive billionaire Timothy Mellon.
During the campaign, she introduced Trump before he gave a speech on fighting antisemitism. She also appeared at a ceremony at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate marking the one-year anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
Some pro-Israel Republicans who were concerned that J.D. Vance, Trump’s vice president, might extend his isolationist outlook to Israel were reassured after Vance and his wife Usha sat with Adelson at a dinner at Mar-a-Lago earlier this month. Adelson and the Vances appeared together again on Sunday night at a pre-inauguration party.
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