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| MBK Partners Founder and Chairman Michael ByungJu Kim / Courtesy of MBK Partners |
Michael ByungJu Kim, MBK Partners' founder and chairman, has ranked at the top of Forbes' 2023 list of "Korea's 50 Richest." It is the first time that the net worth of the private equity legend has overtaken that of Lee Jae-yong, executive chairman of Samsung Electronics, on Forbes' annual billionaire list.
According to the U.S.-headquartered business magazine on Tuesday, Kim's real-time net worth is estimated at $9.7 billion, topping the chart of Korea's 50 Richest. The founder of MBK Partners, one of Asia's largest private equity firms, ranked third on the same list last year, with a net worth $7.7 billion. Kim was also ranked 190th in the world's billionaire list this year.
Announcing the list, Forbes introduced one of Kim's famous quotes: "I always thought the success I've had is due to some talent, hard work, yes, but it's also due to luck. Recognition of that is critical to giving you a sense of reality and it's from that recognition that you get humility."
Forbes said the founder of MBK Partners, which has assets under management (AUM) of over $26 billion, was the biggest gainer in both percentage and dollar terms with a net worth of $9.7 billion, up $2 billion from last year.
Samsung Electronics chief Lee Jae-yong, or Jay Y. Lee as stated in the Forbes article, took second place on Korea's 50 Richest, with a net worth of $8.8 billion. Celltrion founder Seo Jung-jin followed the list as the third richest person in Korea, with a net worth of $5.7 billion. Both Lee and Seo's assets each declined by $1.2 billion due to a weaker Korean won as well as falling stock prices.
Smilegate Holdings founder Kwon Hyuk-bin ranked in fourth place with $5.2 billion, followed by Kim Beom-su, founder of conglomerate Kakao, with $5.1 billion. Hong Ra-hee, director of Leeum and widow of former Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee and Chung Mong-koo, chairman of Hyundai Motor, followed on the list, holding $4.9 billion and $4.1 billion, respectively.
The daughters of late Nexon founder Kim Jung-ju, Kim Jung-min and Kim Jung-youn, together ranked eighth, holding $3.6 billion from their father's inheritance. Cho Jung-ho, the chairman of Meritz Financial Group, and Lee Boo-jin, president of Hotel Shilla, also made the list, each holding $3.4 billion.
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