For the cover of the May 20–June 2 issue of New York, features writer Elizabeth Weil profiles Miriam Adelson, wife of the late Sheldon Adelson and the richest Israeli in the world. With a fortune of 30 billion dollars, Adelson has wielded tremendous influence as Donald Trump’s biggest donor during the 2020 election cycle, and has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to shape and protect American attitudes toward Israel. How she chooses to engage in the last six months of this presidential campaign — to what extent she supports Trump’s reelection campaign, and what policy promises she secures in return — could dramatically shape the direction of the Israel-Hamas war and the future of the Middle East.
“I had no idea who Miriam Adelson was until I started trying to figure out a way to cover the current moment,” said Weil. “Part of it is chauvinism. Her late husband, Sheldon, was well known and people attributed almost all of the family’s political influence to him, but she is one of the nation’s most powerful people, and has fingerprints all over two of the biggest issues in the country right now: the war and the election. She also has a life story that helps make sense of the world, even if you find her politics abhorrent. With $30 billion at her disposal, we should all be paying attention to who she is.”
The cover image of Adelson was photographed by Alex Wong for Getty Images.
Elsewhere in the issue, features writer Zak Cheney-Rice writes about how in Atlanta, the George Floyd demonstrations of four years ago are being used as evidence of illegal gang activity — and the activists of today who are protesting a controversial new police training center referred to as “Cop City,” as well as other high-profile issues like the war in Gaza, could be next. Features writer Jen Wieczner writes on Hans Niemann, one of the most disliked grandmasters in chess even before he was accused of cheating. He’s since been largely exonerated — and doubled down on his opponent-trashing, hotel-wrecking, money-flaunting ways.