South Korea’s major stock-rich billionaires and their family members have reaped huge valuation gains over the past five years, with the value of their stock holdings growing faster than the overall rise in the local stock market, data showed Monday.

The combined value of stocks owned by the chiefs of the country’s top 30 conglomerates and their families reached 49.17 trillion won ($46.65 billion) as of Thursday, more than doubling the 20.18 trillion won tallied five years ago, according to the data compiled by market researcher Chaebul.com.

Their stock valuations have risen about 143.7 percent since the global financial crisis caused by the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008, the data showed. The country’s key stock index, the KOSPI, has climbed 78.3 percent during the cited period.

Lee Kun-hee, the chairman of the country’s biggest conglomerate Samsung Group, his wife and his only son Lee Jay-yong saw the value of their shareholdings in Samsung subsidiaries stand at 13.87 trillion won as of Thursday, up 11.59 trillion won from 2.28 trillion won over the cited period.

Lee, South Korea’s richest man, controls the sprawling Samsung Group, South Korea’s largest family-owned conglomerate that has global tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. and scores of other subsidiaries under its wing. His two daughters own shares of unlisted companies such as Samsung Everland Co.

The gain for the Lee family is attributed to a rise in shares of Samsung Electronics Co., the group’s flagship company whose share price has almost tripled to 1.41 million won from 465,000 won over the past five years.

Also, Samsung Life Insurance Co.’s stock market debut in 2010 helped boost their stock valuations, according to the data.

The Samsung Group chief and their family members were trailed by Chung Mong-koo, owner of top automaker Hyundai Motor Group and his four family members whose combined stock valuations have surged to 9.78 trillion won from 2.28 trillion won over the cited period.

Shares of Hyundai Motor Co., the group’s flagship firm, have soared to 230,000 won from 42,000 won over the past five years.

The data also showed that Samsung chairman Lee was the country’s richest person with his stock valuation reaching 11.16 trillion won as of Thursday, a sharp rise from 1.39 trillion won five years ago.

Lee was followed by Hyundai Motor chairman Chung with 5.02 trillion won, trailed by Chung’s only son, Chung Eui-sun, with 2.47 trillion won and SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won with 1.63 trillion won, the data showed. (Yonhap News)