Casino magnate and philanthropist Sheldon Adelson. Photo: Reuters / Jonathan Ernst / File.

Sheldon Adelson, a great American patriot, a great Jewish patriot, and a great entrepreneurial role model has passed away this week at the age of 87. The death of this self-made billionaire is a great loss to the world.

Adelson was a fair and decent man, who epitomized the American Jewish dream. He grew up poor and gave away hundreds of millions of dollars a year to charity — all of which he earned through hard work. This great American citizen devoted his entire essence to making the world a better place.

Too often, many wealthy Jews shy away from their “Jewish identity,” but Adelson was the model of a proud Jew; along with his wife Miriam, he was the biggest donor in the world to Jewish causes.

While Adelson is well known for his political giving, his philanthropy trumped his political donations. As a philanthropist, his criteria for giving was “whatever is good for the Jewish community and whatever is good for the State of Israel.” What could be a better ideal?

It is hard to find anyone who has done as much for the Jewish community as Adelson. The son of a cab driver, he once said that he was “not a rags to riches story — because we couldn’t afford to buy rags.”

There are few individuals like Adelson in the world today, who have shown how much good for America, for Israel, and for Jews in general, great wealth can accomplish.

Baruch Dayan Emet on the loss of Sheldon Adelson. May his entire family be comforted among the mourners of Zion.

Ronn Torossian is a Public Relations executive.