The wealth of Korea's 50 richest people by stock assets fell sharply this year, mostly led by the three children of Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee due to the slumping equity of major affiliates, industry data showed Saturday.

The combined equity value of the 50 wealthiest people was tallied at 151.43 trillion won (US$130.88 billion) as of Friday, wiping out 2.65 trillion won from Jan. 4, according to the data compiled by Seoul-based corporate tracker Chaebul.com.


Lee Jae-yong, the vice chairman of tech giant Samsung Electronics Co., saw his assets drop from 7.61 trillion won to 6.39 trillion won, the greatest fall of all due to the sluggish performance of major Samsung affiliates.

The asset decline by the Samsung Group heir apparent, who is the third richest in the country by stock, accounted for nearly half of the total drop of the 50 wealthiest people, it said.

The stock assets of his two sisters -- Lee Boo-jin, CEO of Hotel Shilla Co. and Lee Seo-hyeon, CEO of Samsung C&T Co. -- also tumbled over the period.

The combined wealth lost by the three siblings in South Korea's largest conglomerate was estimated at 2.17 trillion won, accounting for 82 percent of the total decline of the group, Chaebul.com said.

In contrast, Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee's net asset value grew 710.5 billion won, or 6.3 percent, during the period, consolidating his top status with 11.91 trillion won of stock assets.

The rise was the biggest growth following Suh Kyung-bae, the head of top cosmetics maker AmorePacific Co.

Suh's wealth added 781.2 billion won from Jan. 4 to reach 10.15 trillion won as of Friday, rising 8.5 percent, it said. (Yonhap)