The 71-year-old, who gained entry to the IOC in 1996 and was a key figure in bringing the 2018 Winter Olympics and Paralympics to Pyeongchang, remained in the spot he has held since topping the stock-rich list in 2010, when Samsung Life Insurance made its market debut, despite last year losing more than five per cent on the value of his stock holdings.

His shares in Samsung, the nation's largest family-owned conglomerate, and its affiliates were down 673 billion won (£387 million/$640 million/€467 million) from the beginning of last year, according to Chaebol.com, after the share price of the smartphone manufacturer fell to 1,372,000 won (£789/$1,306/€952) on the last trading day of last year from 1,525,000 won (£876/$1,451/€1,056) at the beginning of the year amid concerns of tougher competition with rivals, such as Apple.

Lee Kun-hee (centre) was a key figure in Pyeongchang's successful bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympic and Paralympic ©Getty Images

Hyundai Motor Group chairman Chung Mong-koo a former vice-president of FIFA, followed Lee as South Korea's second wealthiest man in terms of stock holdings on 6.94 trillion won (£3.9 billion/$6.6 billion/€4.8 billion), while Chung's son Eui-son came in third, valued at 3.16 trillion won (£1.8 billion/$3 billion/€2.2 billion).

Suh Kyung-bae, head of South Korea's leading cosmetics manufacturer Amore Pacific, was fourth on the list after the combined value of his shares fell 4.6 per cent - 130 billion won (£75 million/$124 million/€90 million) - to 2.72 trillion won (£1.6 billion/$2.6 billion/€1.9 billion) and SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won ranked fifth with stock holdings estimated at 2.57 trillion won (£1.5 billion/$2.4 billion/€1.8 billion).

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