Las Vegas Sands shares have lost over half of their value during this turbulent year putting the company in jeopardy of violating its lender covenants. Chairman and main shareholder, Sheldon Adelson, used personal and family funds to buy convertible senior notes in a private transaction. The private transaction ensured more favorable terms than would have been possible in the public credit markets given the current credit crunch.

The decline in company shares has seriously lowered Adelson’s personal net worth, at least temporarily. A year ago he was named third richest man in the world by Forbes magazine. Now he’s dropped all the way down to number 15 on the Forbes listing.

Adelson has always stated that the Las Vegas Sands will continue with its grand expansion plans and continues to maintain that “our strategy remains alive and well”. The company has three major projects currently in the works including the $12 billion dollar complex in Macau, the $4 billion dollar Marina Bay Sands in Singapore and the $800 million dollar complex in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.