Lee vs Scott

Samsung Electronics and Amazon.

The differences

Forbes puts MacKenzie Scott about $0.6B ahead of Jay Y. Lee.Forbes figures from 9 Oct 2026 and 15 Oct 2026.
Jay Y. Lee: inherited it. MacKenzie Scott: through marriage.
MacKenzie Scott has signed the Giving Pledge; Jay Y. Lee has not.
Jay Y. Lee is from South Korea; MacKenzie Scott is from United States.

Put someone else on either side

Lee

Scott

Net worth, Forbes: $26.7BForbes, 15 Oct 2026; $27.3BForbes, 9 Oct 2026
Net worth, Bloomberg: $29.8BBloomberg, 12 Oct 2026; $36.4BBloomberg, 17 Oct 2026
Forbes rank: No. 84Real-Time list, 9 Oct 2026; No. 88Real-Time list, 9 Oct 2026
Billionaire since: Not stated; 2020Forbes: she made her debut on its annual billionaires list in 2020

How it started: 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; Through marriageReceived shares equal to about 4% of Amazon in her 2019 divorce from Jeff Bezos; she was Amazon's first accountant, and Britannica says she founded the company with him in 1994
Main source: Samsung Electronics and Samsung C&T stockBloomberg names Samsung Electronics as his biggest asset; Amazon stockBloomberg: 'The majority of MacKenzie Scott's fortune is derived from roughly 68 million shares in Amazon'
Companies: Samsung Electronics, Samsung C&TSamsung Electronics: Executive chairman; AmazonAmazon: None; one of the first employees
Biggest stake: Samsung C&T21.8% owned; Amazon0.63% owned

Born: Not stated; 7 Apr 1970San Francisco, California, United States
Country: South KoreaLives in Seoul, South Korea; United StatesLives in Seattle, Washington, United States
Education: Not statedSeoul National University and Keio University; attended Harvard Business School without graduating; Bachelor's degreeBA in English, Princeton University (1992)
Parents: 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; Her father ran an investment-advisory firm and her mother stayed home with the children; the family lost its homes after the firm failed while she was in high school

Giving Pledge: Not a signer; Signed in 2019
Foundation: Samsung Life Public Welfare Foundation and Samsung Foundation of CultureHe was named head of both Samsung foundations in 2015, succeeding his father; Yield GivingHer giving vehicle; it reports over $26 billion in 2,700+ gifts
Lifetime giving: Not stated; $26.4BForbes, 15 Sep 2026. Forbes: 'the $26.4 billion she has given to more than 2,700 nonprofits', as reported on Yield Giving

Role now: Runs the companyExecutive chairman of Samsung Electronics; No rolePhilanthropist; founder of Yield Giving
Successor: 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; Not stated
Public office: None found; None found
Legal record: 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.; None found