Samsung Windfall Gives Lee’s Widow a $7.4 Billion Fortune

Hong Ra-hee becomes a top shareholder in Samsung Electronics
It comes as son Jay Y. Lee strengthens control over group

Hong Ra-hee at the funeral of Lee Kun-hee in Oct. 2020.Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg

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By Yoojung Lee

May 4, 2021 at 1:58 AM UTC

Updated on

May 4, 2021 at 12:40 PM UTC

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Hong Ra-hee, the wife of the late Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee, boosted her fortune to more than $7 billion after receiving billions of dollars in stocks in the much-awaited transfer of her husband’s assets.

Hong, 75, inherited about 83 million shares in Samsung Electronics Co., making her the largest individual shareholder in the tech giant with a 2.3% stake, according to a filing last week. Hong is the richest woman in South Korea with a net worth of $7.4 billion as of Monday’s stock market close, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.