Eddie Lampert Net Worth

Eddie Lampert has an estimated net worth of $2.1 billion, according to Forbes Real-Time Billionaires, Eddie Lampert profile (figures as of October 20, 2026). That is up from $1.6 billion in 2018.

Eddie Lampert is an American investor and business executive best known for ESL Investments and Sears Holdings. After working in Goldman Sachs' risk arbitrage department, he started ESL Investments in 1988. The hedge fund focused on undervalued stocks. That investing approach made him a major figure in finance. He later became chairman and chief executive of Sears Holdings and also founded Transformco.

His public profile grew as he moved from hedge fund investing into big retail leadership. In 2013, he took over as CEO of Sears Holdings, which included Sears, Kmart, and Kenmore, and tried to turn the company around. ESL also backed Sears with nearly $1 billion in loans in the first 10 months of 2017. Sears filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2018, and Lampert won an auction for the company in 2019.

How Eddie Lampert built his fortune

Lampert made his name in finance before he became closely tied to retail. He worked at Goldman Sachs in the firm's risk arbitrage department, then left to launch ESL Investments in 1988. Forbes places him in Finance & Investments and ties much of his wealth to Sears. The core of his career, though, has been buying into businesses he viewed as undervalued and managing those investments through ESL.

His money story later became linked with Sears in a much bigger way. Lampert took over as CEO of Sears Holdings in 2013 while also remaining the founder, chairman, and chief executive of ESL Investments. As Sears struggled, ESL provided major support, including nearly $1 billion in promised loans during the first 10 months of 2017. After the retailer entered Chapter 11 in 2018, he won a 2019 auction with a reported bid of more than $5 billion.

What Forbes says about his net worth

Forbes has tracked Lampert's wealth through years that included both pressure at Sears and a later rebound. On the Forbes World's Billionaires List, he was listed at $1.6 billion in 2018, then $1 billion in 2019. In the following years, the estimate moved higher, reaching $2 billion in 2024 and staying at that level in 2025. Those shifts came during a period when Sears was restructured, financed, sold, and reshaped.

The latest Forbes update puts Lampert at $2.1 billion on its real-time billionaires tracker as of October 20, 2026. That came after Forbes listed him at $2.4 billion on the 2026 World's Billionaires List. The gap shows how these estimates can move over time. His profile combines hedge fund investing, retail ownership, and the long-running Sears story, which is why his wealth has drawn attention from both finance and business watchers.