Koo Bon-sik Net Worth

Koo Bon-sik has an estimated net worth of $2.1 billion, according to Forbes Real-Time Billionaires, Koo Bon-sik profile (figures as of October 20, 2026). That is up from $1 billion in 2013.

Koo Bon-sik is a South Korean businessman and chairman of LT Group, which has interests in precious metals, advanced materials and electronics. He was born on June 28, 1958, and is a member of the Koo family that founded LG.

He is the youngest of four sons of former LG chairman Koo Cha-kyung, and his grandfather Koo In-hwoi cofounded LG in 1947. All of his brothers have held major roles in the family's businesses, including Koo Bon-neung, who runs Heesung Electronics and is also one of South Korea's richest people.

Koo graduated from Shinil High School in 1976 and earned a degree in metallurgical engineering from Korea University in 1980. He completed a master's degree in materials engineering at the University of Michigan in 1985.

Koo trained as an engineer, which suits the materials and metals businesses that LT Group runs. His career shows how a family conglomerate can be divided among relatives over generations. He has spent his career in the family's industrial businesses.

How Koo Bon-sik made his money

Koo's wealth is inherited from one of South Korea's best-known business families. LG began as Lak Hui Chemical Industrial, which started out selling a popular face cream, and grew into a giant in electronics and chemicals.

Over time the family's holdings split into separate groups run by different branches. Koo chairs LT Group, which works in precious metals, advanced materials and electronics, and he owns a stake in Heesung Electronics, the business run by his brother.

The family has kept reshaping its holdings. In 2017 it was reported that his three children sold all their LG shares, a move seen as a way to expand their influence in the Heesung Group. That shift keeps the family's wealth working in businesses closer to their own branch.

How Forbes has valued Koo Bon-sik

Forbes valued Koo at $1 billion in 2013 and again in 2018. His figure rose to $1.1 billion in 2019 and $1.2 billion in 2021, then held at $1.1 billion in 2022, 2023 and 2024.

It nearly doubled to $2 billion on the 2026 World's Billionaires List. As of October 20, 2026, the Forbes real-time billionaires tracker showed $2.1 billion, his highest figure. For years his fortune sat just above the billionaire line before the recent jump.