Meet Samsung's billionaire Lee family, South Korea's most powerful dynasty

Business Insider

Sabotage, espionage, succession battles, and sibling rivalries - it sounds like a season of "Game of Thrones." But it's the real-life drama of the Lee family, the Korean dynasty that founded Samsung with wealth equal to 17% of the country's GDP, according to Bloomberg.

The sprawling Samsung empire, which does far more than just make phones, has grown into its third generation of leadership, with current chairman Lee Byung-chul's son, Lee Jae-yong, poised to build on of his father's foundation.

Of course that's if everything goes to plan. Set to rock the boat is Paul Singer, the American billionaire hedge funder known for taking on entire countries (he once had an Argentine naval vessel impounded). He's pushing to block the sale of Samsung C&T to Cheil, which would ease the generational transfer of power.

It's a fragile situation. A judge should rule on Singer's injunction to stop the sale soon, too. If Lee Jae-yong doesn't navigate this right, there are family members waiting to take his spot.