Jay Y. Lee tops list for first time with $11.5 billion
SINGAPORE (April 18, 2024) – The collective net worth of Korea’s 50 Richest on the 2024 Forbes list rose slightly to US$115 billion from $106 billion, amid the country’s global chipmaking ambitions. The complete list can be found here, as well as in the April/May issue of Forbes Asia and the May issue of Forbes Korea.
Fueled by investor frenzy over AI and the government’s $470 billion plan with the private sector to make the country a global chip production hub, South Korea’s benchmark Kospi index rebounded in 2024 from being one of the worst performers in Asia last year. The 11% rise in the Kospi index lifted the collective wealth of Korea’s 50 richest.
Nearly half of the listees are richer than a year ago, led by Jay Y. Lee, executive chairman of chipmaking giant Samsung Electronics, who tops the ranking for the first time. Lee is this year’s biggest dollar gainer and his net worth rose to $11.5 billion from $8 billion. Shares of Samsung Electronics climbed on news that it is developing high-bandwidth memory chips used in AI computing for U.S. tech giant Nvidia.
At No. 2 is private equity maven Michael Kim, founder of MBK Partners, whose wealth was flat at $9.7 billion. Seo Jung-jin, cofounder of drugmaker Celltrion, retained the third spot with a net worth of $7.5 billion, up from $5.7 billion last year, as he came out of retirement and kicked off a long-delayed restructuring.
The biggest gainer in percentage terms is Cho Jung-ho, chairman of Meritz Financial Group, whose net worth was up 82% to $6.2 billion. He jumped five spots to No. 4 as shares of the financial conglomerate got a boost after it merged its insurance and securities units and was relisted. Rounding out the top five is Mong-Koo Chung of Hyundai Motor, who saw his net worth rise to $4.6 billion from $4.1 billion last year.
Of the four newcomers this year, all but one draw their fortunes from companies involved in AI chips: Kwak Dong Shin (No. 8, $3.9 billion), CEO of chip equipment-maker Hanmi Semiconductor; Lee Chae-yoon (No. 35, $1.08 billion), CEO of chip-testing firm Leeno Industrial and Chung Ji-wan (No. 48, $800 million), chairman of Soulbrain Holdings, which makes chemicals for semiconductor manufacturers such as Samsung.
The fourth new entrant is U.S.-trained biochemist Park Soon-jae (No. 23, $1.43 billion), cofounder and CEO of biotech firm Alteogen, which struck a lucrative licensing deal with Merck in February. The U.S. drug giant secured the rights to use Alteogen’s technology to administer its top-selling cancer drug Keytruda subcutaneously, for milestone payments that could potentially exceed $400 million.
There are four returnees to the ranks this year, including Chang Byung-gyu (No. 47, $825 million), founder of online gaming firm Krafton. After falling from a pandemic-induced high, shares of Krafton rebounded more than 30% in the past year, boosted by the popularity of the Indian version of its hit video game PUBG: Battlegrounds.
The minimum net worth to make the list was $775 million, down from $830 million in 2023.
The top 10 richest in Korea are:
- Jay Y. Lee; US$11.5 billion
- Michael Kim; $9.7 billion
- Seo Jung-jin; $7.5 billion
- Cho Jung-ho; $6.2 billion
- Mong-Koo Chung; $4.6 billion
- Kim Beom-su; $4.5 billion
- Hong Ra-hee; $4.4 billion
- Kwak Dong Shin; $3.9 billion
- Kwon Hyuk-bin; $3.5 billion
- Euisun Chung; $3.4 billion
This list was compiled using shareholding and financial information obtained from the families and individuals, stock exchanges, annual reports, analysts, government agencies and other sources. Net worths were based on stock prices and exchange rates as of the close of markets on April 2, 2024 and private companies were valued based on similar companies that are publicly traded. Real-time net worths on Forbes.com may reflect different valuations. The ranking lists both individual and family fortunes, including those shared among relatives and may differ from the World’s Billionaires List, which includes individual fortunes with net worths as of March 8. The list can also include foreign citizens with business, residential or other ties to the country, or citizens who don’t reside in the country but have significant business or other ties to the country.
For more information, visit www.forbes.com/korea.
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Catherine Ong, cell: +65 9697 0007, Email: cath@catherineong.com
Wang Chenxi, cell: +65 8187 3215, Email: chenxi@catherineong.com
