Samsung, like many major Korean conglomerates that are led by the descendants of the founder, is as chaebol as they come. Chaebol refers to a diversified South Korean conglomerate that's led by an individual or family.
As you'd probably expect, the people in charge of these massive companies tend to be considerably wealthy. So it's no surprise that Samsung's founding Lee family has been ranked as the 12 richest in Asia.
Samsung family collectively worth $18.2 billion
The conglomerate is currently led by Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, the grandson of Samsung founder Lee Byung-chul. The Samsung family has the distinction of being the only Korean conglomerate included in the Asia's top 20 richest families list released by Bloomberg.
According to the report, the collective wealth held by the top 20 richest Asian families amounts to an impressive $534 billion. It excludes first-generation wealth of the likes of Alibaba's Jack Ma and the fortunes that are controlled by a single heir. The list specifically focuses on wealth held by different branches of the family.
The report mentions that the Samsung family's assets amount to $18.2 billion, providing them with the 12th spot on the list. They've dropped two positions from last year's 10th spot when their assets were estimated to be $18.5 billion. The family had previously been fifth on the list back in 2019 and 2020 when the assets were estimated to be at $28.5 billion and $26.6 billion respectively.
It's likely that the drop had something to do with nearly $11 billion in tax, the highest ever inheritance tax in South Korea, that the family had to pay to inherit the estate of Lee Kun-hee, former chairman and the father of Lee Jae-yong.
