Richest 300
Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics Lee Jae-yong became one of the 300 richest people in the world with the great success in the IPO of Samsung SDS.
According to Bloomberg's top 400 billionaire list released on Nov. 18, the assets of Vice Chairman Lee were the 252nd largest with US$5.6 billion (6.1 trillion won).
In September, Lee ranked at 360th with US$4.4 billion (4.8 trillion won).
Lee's rank jumped up due to the great success in the recent Samsung SDS IPO. Lee owns 11.25 percent of the total Samsung SDS shares.
Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee (94th), Amore Pacific Chairman Seo Kyung-bae (228th), and Hyundai Motor Chairman Jung Mong-gu (235th) are the only other Koreans ranking higher than Vice Chairman Lee.
Lee Kun-hee, chairman of Samsung Electronics, holds first place in the national top assets list with US$12.1 billion (13.2 trillion won).
Chairman Seo was listed in the top 200 at the beginning of this month, but moved down to 228th. Chairman Seo has assets of US$5.9 billion (6.4 trillion won).
Rejoining the top 200 world's richest people won't be easy for Chairman Jung. His assets decreased after mid-September, ranking 235th. The decrease was due to controversy over the expensive purchase of the Korean Electric Power Corporation's building in Gangnam, the weak yen, and the drop in the stock price of Hyundai Motors. The assets of Chairman Jung amounted US$5.8 billion (6.3 trillion won).
Meanwhile, Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, took the number one spot in the world’s richest people list with US$87.2 billion (95.5 trillion won). Chairman of a Mexican telecommunications conglomerate Carlos Slim (US$76.4 billion, 83.6 trillion won) and Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Warren Buffett (US$71.2 billion, 77.9 trillion won) maintained second and third ranks.