As of June 2018, Adelson was listed by Forbes as having a fortune of US$43.4 billion, making him the 16th-richest person in the world. He is a major contributor to Republican Party candidates] He has been the largest donor, of any party, in both the 2012 and 2016 presidential campaigns. He had sat out the Republican primary season for the 2016 presidential election and on September 23, he announced a $25 million donation to Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, making him the largest donor to the Trump campaign and the largest donor in the presidential election (although this was less than the $100 million donation some had initially predicted).