2008's Financial Winner's and Losers

Gambling in a Crisis

J.P. Morgan Chase and its CEO James S. Dimon were among the few winners on Wall Street this year. The bank played a major role in the credit crisis, first taking over Bear Stearns in a government-orchestrated deal and then buying out most of Washington Mutual after federal officials seized the bank.

The company's stock is down for the year -- but then again, so is everybody's -- and only time will tell if Dimon's moves were smart. But at least at the end of 2008, he appears to have emerged a winner.

Vegas' Losing Streak

As the recession has deepened, casinos have been hit hard, especially those in Las Vegas where visitors arrive after either a long drive through the desert or a flight into town.

Among the biggest losers to emerge from Las Vegas' losing streak is Las Vegas Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson, who recently invested $475 million of his own money to bolster the ailing company.

The billionaire has lost at least $16.6 billion this year thanks to his Sands holdings, according to analysis by Steven Hall & Partners, a compensation-consulting firm in New York. Part of the reason for Adelson's massive losses is his outsized investment in the company: Individually and through family trusts, Adelson owns nearly 70 percent of Sands -- much more than other big-time, billionaire CEOs.