Lee owns a stake in Samsung Group, South Korea's largest conglomerate. Its Samsung Electronics unit produces consumer and industrial electronic equipment, and reported revenue of 300.9 trillion won ($220.7 billion) in 2024. She's also the president of Hotel Shilla, an operator of hotels and resorts in Seoul and Jeju.
The majority of Lee's fortune is derived from her stakes in the divisions of Samsung Group, South Korea's largest company. Her ownership of the Samsung Group is substantially inherited following the death of her father and former Samsung chairman, Lee Kun-hee in October 2020.
She owns less than 1% of publicly traded Samsung Electronics, according to the company's January 2026 filing. About 8% of her stake is pledged and excluded from the net worth calculation.
Lee also owns a 6% stake in Samsung C&T, the publicly traded entity that was created following the September 2015 merger of Cheil Industries, the de facto holding company of the Samsung Group, and its construction and trading arm.
Lee's cash and other assets are based on an analysis of dividends, insider transactions, taxes and market performance.
Seohee Won, a Samsung Electronics spokesperson, declined to comment on the net worth calculation.
Born on Oct. 6, 1970, Lee Boo-jin is the eldest daughter of Lee Kun-hee, who transformed his father's fish exporter into Samsung Group, South Korea's largest conglomerate. The younger Lee obtained a bachelor's degree in child studies from Yonsei University in Seoul.
Her father stepped down as chairman of Samsung after being convicted of tax evasion and breach of trust in 2008.
Lee started her career in the Samsung Welfare Foundation in 1995, where she met her ex-husband Lim Woo-jae in a volunteer activity. Lim was a security team member of Samsung by then.
The couple's divorce was finalized in 2020 and Lee was ordered to pay Lim 14.1 billion won ($12.1 million) as part of the settlement.
Lee joined Hotel Shilla, a hotel operator founded by late grandfather Lee Byung-chul, in 2001. She assumed the role of president and chief executive in December 2010, expanding the company's duty-free business.