Hong Ra-hee Net Worth

Hong Ra-hee has an estimated net worth of $9.8 billion, according to Forbes Real-Time Billionaires, Hong Ra-hee profile (figures as of October 20, 2026). That is up from $1 billion in 2016.

Hong Ra-hee is a South Korean businesswoman and arts figure linked to Samsung. She is the widow of Lee Kun-hee, the longtime Samsung Group chairman who was South Korea's richest person before his death in 2020. Her work in the art world helped raise her public profile. She was the director of Leeum and the Ho-Am Art Museum before stepping down in 2017. She also studied Applied Arts at Seoul National University.

Her career spans publishing, cultural work, and museum leadership. Hong worked at JoongAng Ilbo Publishing from 1975 to 1980. In 1995, she became chairperson of the Samsung Arts and Cultural Foundation. She later co-founded Leeum with her husband in 2004. Forbes ties her wealth to Samsung, in the technology industry. Her museum roles and her place in the Samsung family made her a well-known figure in both business and culture in South Korea.

How Hong Ra-hee's wealth is tied to Samsung

Hong Ra-hee's wealth is connected to Samsung, according to Forbes. She is not listed by Forbes as self-made. Much of her public identity comes from her place in the Samsung family and from her role as the widow of Lee Kun-hee, who led Samsung Group for years. Forbes places her in the technology industry, reflecting that connection. Her financial story is tied more to a major corporate empire than to a separate startup or entertainment career.

Her public career has centered on art and cultural institutions. She served as director of the Samsung Museum of Art, known as Leeum, and the Ho-Am Art Museum until her resignation in 2017. She also served as chairperson of the Samsung Arts and Cultural Foundation from 1995. Hong co-founded Leeum with her husband in 2004. Those roles did not make her famous in the usual celebrity sense, but they made her a visible figure in South Korea's museum world.

What Forbes has said about her fortune

Forbes has tracked large changes in Hong Ra-hee's estimated wealth over time. On the World's Billionaires List, Forbes put her at $1 billion in 2016. That estimate later climbed to $6.3 billion in 2022. It then moved down to $3.3 billion in 2025 on the same list. Across those years, Forbes kept linking her fortune to Samsung, showing how closely her wealth is viewed through that business connection.

In 2026, Forbes raised its annual list estimate to $8.8 billion, then its real-time tracker showed a higher figure. As of October 20, 2026, Forbes' real-time billionaires tracker listed Hong Ra-hee at $9.8 billion. That makes 2026 the strongest Forbes reading shown here. The pattern across the published figures is simple: the estimate changed a lot from year to year, but Samsung remained the core source behind the valuation.