Samsung's Lee Jae-yong Not No.1 Here... Top 50s Asset Holder is 'MBK' Kim Byung-joo

For the first time, Kim Byung-joo, chairman of MBK Partners, has topped the list of Korea's 50 richest individuals selected by the American business magazine Forbes.

On the 17th (local time), Forbes announced the 2023 ranking of Korea's 50 richest people, revealing that Kim Byung-joo, chairman of MBK Partners, recorded $9.7 billion in assets, securing first place for the first time.

Kim Byung-joo, Chairman of MBK Partners
[Photo by MBK Partners]

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Following him were Lee Jae-yong, chairman of Samsung Electronics ($8 billion), Seo Jung-jin, honorary chairman of Celltrion ($5.7 billion), Kwon Hyuk-bin, CVO (Chief Vision Officer) of Smilegate Holdings ($5.1 billion), Kim Beom-su, chairman of Kakao ($5 billion), Hong Ra-hee, former director of the Leeum Museum of Art ($4.9 billion), Chung Mong-koo, honorary chairman of Hyundai Motor Group ($4.1 billion), sisters Kim Jung-min and Kim Jung-yeon, children of the late Kim Jung-ju, CEO of Nexon ($3.6 billion), Cho Jung-ho, chairman of Meritz Financial Group ($3.4 billion), and Lee Boo-jin, CEO of Hotel Shilla ($3.3 billion), all ranking within the top 10.

Last year, Chairman Kim Byung-joo was ranked third with $7.7 billion. Forbes diagnosed that the Korean stock market's sluggishness caused a decline in the asset values of many wealthy individuals. The assets of Chairman Lee Jae-yong and Honorary Chairman Seo Jung-jin each decreased by $1.2 billion over the past year.

Kim Byung-joo is regarded as a pioneer and godfather of the Asian private equity market. He also holds the highest position on Forbes' 2023 global wealth list in the 'PE' (Private Equity) category, which is divided by industry. Kim, who became independent from the U.S. private equity group Carlyle and co-founded MBK Partners in 2005 with other founders, is estimated to have a net equity value exceeding 10 trillion won. This places MBK Partners among the largest in Asia and ranks it among the world's top five private equity firms.

MBK Partners manages assets worth approximately $26 billion and has received investments from over 150 global pension funds, including the National Pension Service of Korea. Since 2005, it has invested in 64 companies across three Northeast Asian countries?Korea, China, and Japan?with the total revenue of these companies exceeding $50 billion.

Kim Byung-joo's annual letter, sent at the end of March each year to over 200 institutional investors domestically and internationally, including the National Pension Service, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), and Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC), has been regarded as a 'compass' for gauging the direction of the Northeast Asian M&A market. In the annual letter sent at the end of March this year, Kim reported investments of $4 billion and $3.9 billion in 2021 and 2022, respectively, during what he called the 'golden window' for investment.

Despite the market conditions suddenly deteriorating from the second half of last year, MBK Partners executed investment recoveries worth $2.9 billion. Kim also forecasted that the macroeconomic fundamentals of the three Northeast Asian countries?Korea, China, and Japan?remain solid and are moving toward qualitative growth, suggesting that the Asian PE industry investing in these markets will continue to grow sustainably.

Kim Byung-joo is also renowned as one of the most active philanthropists among Korean businesspeople. He was selected by Forbes as one of Asia's leading philanthropists for two consecutive years, 2021 and 2022. Kim was one of three individuals, alongside Ronnie Chan and Gerald Chan, co-founders of Hong Kong's Morningside Group, to be selected two years in a row, and he was the only philanthropist from Korea chosen in 2022.

Kim focuses his philanthropy on culture, arts, and education, engaging in 'impact giving' that creates positive influence. In September last year, he donated $10 million to The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The museum announced that the donation would be used for the renovation of the Modern Wing, a modern and contemporary art exhibition hall. Kim also serves as a board member of Carnegie Hall and the New York Public Library.

In 2021, Kim personally donated 30 billion won to build a public library near Gajaeul Central Neighborhood Park in Bukgajwa-dong, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. This was the largest personal donation in Seoul's history and the first of its kind for establishing a public library. In recognition of his contribution, the library was named the 'Seoul Metropolitan Kim Byung-joo Library.' The winning design was selected through an international competition last year, and the design process is underway. The library is scheduled for completion in February 2027.

Since 2007, Kim has continued supporting full tuition scholarships for MBK Scholarship Foundation students for 16 years. The foundation has produced a total of 170 scholarship recipients as of this year. Additionally, Kim fully funded the construction of 'Ki Yong Kim Hall,' a dormitory at his alma mater, Haverford College in the U.S., in 2010. He is also a board member of Harvard Business School, another of his alma maters.

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