Samuel Zell (born Shmuel Zielonka, September 28, 1941) is an American billionaire businessman and philanthropist.
A former lawyer, Zell is the founder and chairman of Equity Group Investments, a private investment firm focused on building real estate-related businesses in emerging markets, founded in 1968.
He has substantial interests in, and is the chairman of, several public companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange: Equity Residential (EQR), Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS), Equity Commonwealth (EQC), Covanta Holding Corp.
(CVA), and Anixter.
In 2018, Bloomberg ranked Zell as the world's 397th richest person, with a fortune of $4.4 billion.