Lee vs Cohen

Samsung Electronics and Point72.

The differences

Forbes puts Jay Y. Lee about $0B ahead of Steve Cohen.Forbes figures from 15 Oct 2026 and 9 Oct 2026.
Jay Y. Lee: inherited it. Steve Cohen: founded it.
Jay Y. Lee is from South Korea; Steve Cohen is from United States.

Put someone else on either side

Lee

Cohen

Net worth, Forbes: $26.7BForbes, 15 Oct 2026; $26.7BForbes, 9 Oct 2026
Net worth, Bloomberg: $29.8BBloomberg, 12 Oct 2026; $22.2BBloomberg, 11 Oct 2026
Forbes rank: No. 84Real-Time list, 9 Oct 2026; No. 90Real-Time list, 9 Oct 2026
Billionaire since: Not stated; 2004Earliest Forbes list in the cited sources: the 2004 World's Richest People; an earlier listing isn't ruled out

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; Founded itFounded S.A.C. Capital Advisors in 1992 and converted it into the Point72 family office in 2014
Main source: Samsung Electronics and Samsung C&T stockBloomberg names Samsung Electronics as his biggest asset; His holdings in Point72's hedge fundsBloomberg: about $16.6 billion of Point72's $50.7 billion in assets (April 2026) belongs to him; he also owns 95% of the New York Mets
Companies: Samsung Electronics, Samsung C&TSamsung Electronics: Executive chairman; Point72Point72: Founder, chairman, CEO and co-chief investment officer
Biggest stake: Samsung C&T21.8% owned; Point72Stake not stated

Born: Not stated; 1956Great Neck, New York, United States
Country: South KoreaLives in Seoul, South Korea; United States
Education: Not statedSeoul National University and Keio University; attended Harvard Business School without graduating; Bachelor's degreeBS in economics, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania (1978)
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; Father was a garment manufacturer and mother a piano teacher; the third of eight children

Giving Pledge: Not a signer; Not a signer
Foundation: Samsung Life Public Welfare Foundation and Samsung Foundation of CultureHe was named head of both Samsung foundations in 2015, succeeding his father; Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation
Lifetime giving: Not stated; $1.5BSteven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation, 17 Oct 2026. The foundation says it has given over $1.5 billion to US public charities since 2001; Forbes says he has given more than $1 billion over his lifetime

Role now: Runs the companyExecutive chairman of Samsung Electronics; Runs the companyChairman, CEO and co-CIO of Point72; chairman and CEO of the New York Mets
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.; 2016: US SECSettled SEC charges that he failed reasonably to supervise a portfolio manager who engaged in insider trading, agreeing to a bar on supervising funds that manage outside money until 2018 and to SEC examinations of his family office; he neither admitted nor denied the finding.