Eddie Lampert
Edward Scott Lampert | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 19, 1962 Roslyn, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, investor |
| Years active | 1984–present |
| Known for | Founder, chairman, and CEO of ESL Investments; former CEO and chairman of Sears Holdings; founder of Transformco |
Edward Scott Lampert (born July 19, 1962) is a prominent American billionaire entrepreneur. He previously held the roles of CEO and chairman at Sears Holdings, is the founder of Transformco, and serves as founder, chairman, and CEO of ESL Investments. Lampert was a board member at AutoNation until May 2007 and served on the AutoZone board from 1999 through 2006. As of October 2021, his net worth was estimated to be around US$2 billion.
Early life
Born in 1962 in Roslyn, New York to Dolores and Floyd M. Lampert, he comes from a Jewish background. His father was a senior partner at the New York law firm Lampert & Lampert, while his mother initially was a homemaker before working as a clerk at Saks Fifth Avenue. Following his father’s passing in 1977, Lampert assumed family responsibilities and worked in warehouse jobs while excelling in both academics and athletics, earning a scholar-athlete award during high school. He graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in economics from Yale University in 1984, where he was inducted into both Skull and Bones and Phi Beta Kappa.
Career
Lampert began his professional journey with an internship at Goldman Sachs in July 1984, subsequently working in their risk arbitrage division from March 1985 until February 1988, collaborating closely with Robert Rubin, who cautioned him against leaving the firm.
In April 1988, he established ESL Investments in Greenwich, Connecticut, named after his initials, starting with $28 million provided by Richard Rainwater, who also introduced him to high-profile clients such as David Geffen.
A 2004 profile by Businessweek likened Lampert’s investment approach to that of Warren Buffett. That year, he reportedly earned $1.02 billion, becoming the first Wall Street manager to generate over $1 billion within a single year. By 2006, he was featured on the Time 100 list among the "brightest minds on Wall Street," recognized for pioneering activist hedge funds. That same year, with a net worth of $3.8 billion, he was Connecticut’s wealthiest individual.
By March 2012, Lampert ranked No. 367 on the global wealth list compiled by Forbes with $3.1 billion; by August 2016, his ranking had dropped to No. 810 with $2.2 billion.
In January 2013, following the departure of Louis D'Ambrosio, Lampert assumed the CEO position at Sears. He reorganized Sears into roughly 30 distinct profit-driven business units that engaged in internal service transactions through competitive bidding—an organizational strategy reportedly inspired by Ayn Rand’s philosophy—but these efforts did not halt Sears’ ongoing decline.
By July 2016, Lampert owned approximately 28% of Sears Holdings, valued near $408 million. In early 2017, as president, CEO, and largest shareholder of Sears Holdings, his personal fortune was estimated at $2 billion, largely held via ESL Investments. That year he extended an additional $500 million loan to Sears and offered letters of credit potentially amounting to $700 million amid persistent sales drops and store shutdowns.
Lampert faced significant criticism for strained employee relations and insufficient investment in maintaining Sears’ physical stores, which deteriorated notably during his leadership. Over five years under his management, Sears lost roughly half its market value and closed more than half of its retail locations.
On October 15, 2018, Lampert stepped down as CEO but stayed on as chairman throughout bankruptcy proceedings. On December 6, 2018, through ESL Investments, he submitted a bid to acquire Sears for $4.6 billion in cash and stock—funded by an additional $950 million debt load without new cash injections. By early 2019 around 500 stores remained open while others were liquidated. He resigned as chairman on February 14, 2019.
In January 2019, Sears creditors accused Lampert of executing a "multiyear and multifaceted scheme" aimed at asset stripping for personal benefit. In May 2019, after acquiring what remained of Sears, he threatened to withhold $43 million in pension payments owed to approximately 90,000 former workers and retirees.
In December 2024, a trustee representing Sears Hometown Stores filed a $177 million lawsuit against Lampert and his affiliated companies in bankruptcy court.
Personal life
In 2001, Lampert wed attorney Kinga Keh, and together they have three children. Their homes include properties located in Indian Creek Village, Florida, Aspen, Colorado, and Greenwich, Connecticut. The couple actively participates in their neighborhood Chabad house community.
Lampert is the owner of the luxury motor yacht Fountainhead, which takes its name from the novel by Ayn Rand.
In 2003, Lampert was abducted from the parking area of his Greenwich office but managed to secure his freedom after two days by agreeing to pay a ransom.
A supporter of free market economics, Lampert is also an admirer of Ayn Rand, the author associated with Objectivism.