Samsung's Jay Y. Lee remains Korea's top stock-rich billionaire

The world's richest people typically derive most of their net worth from the value of their stock holdings in the companies they founded or work in.

That also holds true for Jay Y. Lee, the chairman of Samsung Electronics, one of South Korea's top companies. His holdings in the company have made Lee the leading stock-rich individual in the country yet again.

Jay Y. Lee is quite familiar with the top spot on this list, as he has retained it once again. His net worth has only increased since the sharp rise in Samsung Electronics' stock over the past year. This was fueled by investors' confidence in the company's ability to generate future growth, particularly in the semiconductor segment.

The latest data from corporate tracker CEO Score shows that Lee's stock-based net worth nearly doubled from 12.3 trillion won or $8.6 billion over at the end of 2024 to 23.4 trillion won or $16 billion at the end of this year.

This was driven by the increase in share prices of not just Samsung Electronics but also various other Samsung companies in which he also holds shares. His Samsung Electronics holdings have more than doubled in value over the past year while shares of Samsung C&T and Samsung Life Insurance rose 116.9% and 63.5% respectively over the course of the year.

The list also includes other top corporate leaders in South Korea, while several other members of Samsung's founding Lee family that operate various businesses under the conglomerate, also made an appearance.