As of March, the combined wealth of Lee Jae-yong’s family stood at $45.5 billion, up from $20.1 billion a year earlier, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The family rose to No. 3 among Asia’s richest clans from No. 10 last year. The family is set to complete the final installment payment this month on the 12 trillion won inheritance tax.
The jump was driven largely by a sharp rise in Samsung Electronics shares. The stock gained 126% last year, its best annual increase in more than 20 years. Expectations for a semiconductor upturn lifted the shares as investment in AI infrastructure expanded and demand grew for memory chips used in AI. The rally has reduced the need for additional stake sales to raise funds for the inheritance tax.
Lee Jae-yong’s personal wealth rose to $26.9 billion, reclaiming his position as South Korea’s richest person, Bloomberg said.
Samsung’s weight in the domestic economy has also increased. Bloomberg calculations showed revenue at seven major Samsung affiliates, including Samsung Electronics, amounted to 19.3% of South Korea’s gross domestic product last year, up from 15.1% a decade earlier.
Separately from the wealth gains, analysts said Samsung still faces pressure to improve corporate governance. While South Korean stocks have remained strong on expectations of narrowing the so-called Korea discount, Samsung has been viewed as lagging other large conglomerates in governance changes and measures to expand shareholder benefits.
In a March report, Morgan Stanley said the Samsung Group was behind other major groups in plans aimed at boosting corporate value for investors. Park Sang-in, a professor at Seoul National University’s Graduate School of Public Administration, said the sharp rise in the stock price reduces the controlling family’s incentive to pursue additional governance improvements.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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