Englander vs Lee

Millennium Management and Samsung Electronics.

The differences

Forbes puts Israel Englander about $0.9B ahead of Jay Y. Lee.Forbes figures from 9 Oct 2026 and 15 Oct 2026.
Israel Englander: founded it. Jay Y. Lee: inherited it.
Israel Englander is from United States; Jay Y. Lee is from South Korea.

Put someone else on either side

Englander

Lee

Net worth, Forbes: $27.6BForbes, 9 Oct 2026; $26.7BForbes, 15 Oct 2026
Net worth, Bloomberg: $33.8BBloomberg, 16 Oct 2026; $29.8BBloomberg, 12 Oct 2026
Forbes rank: No. 86Real-Time list, 9 Oct 2026; No. 84Real-Time list, 9 Oct 2026
Billionaire since: Not stated; Not stated

How it started: Founded itFounded Millennium in 1989 with $35 million, after working as a floor broker, trader and specialist on the American Stock Exchange; Inherited itSamsung was founded by his grandfather Lee Byung-chull in 1938; his stakes rose sharply when his father's shares were distributed to the heirs in 2021. He has been executive chairman of Samsung Electronics since 2022
Main source: Millennium Management and his capital in its hedge fundsBloomberg: hedge-fund assets $16.6 billion, Millennium Management $13 billion, cash $4.18 billion; Samsung Electronics and Samsung C&T stockBloomberg names Samsung Electronics as his biggest asset
Companies: Millennium ManagementMillennium Management: Founder, chairman and CEO; Samsung Electronics, Samsung C&TSamsung Electronics: Executive chairman
Biggest stake: Millennium Management85% owned; Samsung C&T21.8% owned

Born: 1948Brooklyn, New York, United States; Not stated
Country: United StatesLives in New York, New York, United States; South KoreaLives in Seoul, South Korea
Education: Bachelor's degreeDegree in finance, New York University (1970); Not statedSeoul National University and Keio University; attended Harvard Business School without graduating
Parents: Son of Polish immigrants, raised in an Orthodox Jewish family in Brooklyn; Son of Samsung Group chairman Lee Kun-hee, long South Korea's richest person, and Hong Ra-hee, a former director of Samsung's Leeum art museum

Giving Pledge: Not a signer; Not a signer
Foundation: Not stated; Samsung Life Public Welfare Foundation and Samsung Foundation of CultureHe was named head of both Samsung foundations in 2015, succeeding his father
Lifetime giving: Not stated; Not stated

Role now: Runs the companyChairman and CEO of Millennium Management; Runs the companyExecutive chairman of Samsung Electronics
Successor: Not stated; None named; his sister Lee Seo-hyun became president of Samsung C&T in 2024 and his sister Lee Boo-jin is president and CEO of Hotel Shilla
Public office: None found; None found
Legal record: 2005: US SECSettled an SEC administrative proceeding over a mutual-fund market-timing scheme at Millennium without admitting or denying the findings; the order required a $30 million civil penalty, $1 in disgorgement and a three-year bar from roles at registered investment companies.; 2021: South Korean courtsSentenced in January 2021 to two and a half years in prison on bribery charges tied to the influence-peddling scandal around former President Park Geun-hye, after a 2017 arrest and a retrial; released early and pardoned by the president in August 2022.