Henry Samueli
American engineer and businessman; co-founder of Broadcom Corporation; co-owner of the Anaheim Ducks
| Henry Samueli
| |
|---|---|
| Born | 20 9 1954 (age 72 years old (as of 2026)
) (Forbes) |
| Residence | Newport Beach, California (Forbes) |
| Occupation | Engineer; businessman |
| Known for | Co-founder of Broadcom Corporation |
| Spouse(s) | Susan Samueli |
| Children | 3 (Forbes) |
| Education | University of California, Los Angeles (BS, MS, PhD) |
Henry Samueli (born 1954) is an American electrical engineer and businessman. He co-founded the chipmaker Broadcom Corporation in 1991, and chaired the board of its successor, Broadcom Inc., from 2018.[1] By September 2026 Harry You had taken over as chairman, and Samueli remained a director.[2] He and his wife, Susan, have co-owned the Anaheim Ducks ice hockey team since 2005, and have given large sums to the University of California, Irvine.[1][3] On 20 October 2026 the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires list ranked Henry Samueli 70th in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$31.87 billion; Forbes lists the source of wealth as Semiconductors.[4][5] In the annual World's Billionaires list published in 2026, Forbes had ranked Henry Samueli 73rd, at US$30.8 billion.[6]
Education and early career
Forbes lists bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees from UCLA.[4] Broadcom's 2026 proxy statement says he worked in engineering and management at TRW's Electronics and Technology Division from 1980 to 1985. He co-founded PairGain Technologies, where he was chief scientist from 1988 to 1994. He has also been a professor of electrical and computer engineering at UCLA since 1985, on leave since 1995, and a distinguished adjunct professor at UC Irvine since 2003. The same proxy lists him as a fellow of the IEEE, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Inventors, and a member of the National Academy of Engineering. He received the IEEE Medal of Honor in 2025.[1]
Broadcom
Forbes says he started Broadcom with Henry Nicholas in 1991, in a condominium in Redondo Beach, California.[4] According to the proxy, he was chief technical officer of Broadcom Corporation from 1991 to 2008 and again from 2009 to 2016. He was its vice-president of research and development from 1991 to 2003, and chaired or co-chaired its board from 1991 to 2008 and from 2011 to 2016.[1] Forbes notes that Avago bought Broadcom in 2016 for US$37 billion and took the Broadcom name.[4] Samueli joined the board of the combined company in 2016, served as its chief technical officer until December 2018, and became chairman in 2018.[1]
Shareholding. At 24 February 2026 he was the beneficial owner of 85,559,569 Broadcom shares, or 1.8%, mostly held through H&S partnerships and two LLCs. He disclaims beneficial ownership of those shares except to the extent of his pecuniary interest. The proxy says he received almost all of his shares when Broadcom Corporation was acquired. In November 2024 the board allowed him an exception to its ban on pledging shares. He pledged 16,175,000 shares, worth about US$2.7 billion at the time, to secure loans for OCVIBE, a development project in Orange County, California.[1]
Board change. The proxy for the April 2026 annual meeting named him chairman.[1] Forbes reports that he stepped down as chairman in June 2026 but stayed on the board.[4] Broadcom's Form S-4 of 10 September 2026 is signed by Harry L. You as chairman and by Samueli as a director.[2]
Options backdating case
On 14 May 2008 the US Securities and Exchange Commission charged four current and former Broadcom officers, including Samueli, then chairman and chief technology officer. It alleged that from 1998 to 2003 they had backdated stock options, leading Broadcom to restate its results in January 2007.[7] In December 2009 the trial judge acquitted the former chief financial officer, William Ruehle, and dismissed the backdating indictment against Henry Nicholas, questioning the prosecutors' conduct and the evidence. The court also dismissed the SEC's civil complaint, without prejudice. On 4 February 2010 the SEC said it would not pursue the case against the four officers any further.[8]
Philanthropy
In September 2017 UC Irvine announced a US$200 million gift from Susan and Henry Samueli to name a college of health sciences focused on integrative health. It was the largest gift in the university's history, and the seventh-largest to a single public university.[3] UCI said the couple had already given more than US$70 million. This included a US$20 million naming gift for the Henry Samueli School of Engineering in 1999, and the Samueli Foundation was giving a further US$30 million towards a convergent science building.[9]
Anaheim Ducks
Forbes says the couple bought the Anaheim Ducks for US$70 million in 2005, and estimates that the team is now worth over US$1 billion.[4]
Political activity
Federal Election Commission records show modest itemised contributions under his name with Broadcom or H&S as employer. These include gifts to the Broadcom political action committee and to the campaign committees of several congressional candidates, including Schiff for Senate, Alex Padilla for Senate and Michelle Steel for Congress.[10]
Across the 14 non-memo records retrieved for the 2022–2026 cycles, the filtered total is US$47,600 (a lower bound). The largest recipient committees, as named in the filings, were SCHIFF FOR SENATE (US$13,200), BROADCOM INC. POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (BROADCOM PAC) (US$10,000), ALEX PADILLA FOR SENATE (US$5,000), MICHELLE STEEL FOR CONGRESS (US$3,300), LICCARDO FOR CONGRESS (US$3,300).[10]
| Cycle | Total (US$, lower bound) | Records | Largest recipient committees (as filed with the FEC) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | $12,900 | 4 | BROADCOM INC. POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (BROADCOM PAC) ($5,000); ALEX PADILLA FOR SENATE ($5,000); KATIE PORTER FOR CONGRESS ($2,900) |
| 2024 | $29,700 | 9 | SCHIFF FOR SENATE ($13,200); MICHELLE STEEL FOR CONGRESS ($3,300); LICCARDO FOR CONGRESS ($3,300); ROSEN FOR NEVADA ($3,300) |
| 2026 | $5,000 | 1 | BROADCOM INC. POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (BROADCOM PAC) ($5,000) |
Wealth
Forbes gives semiconductors as the source of his wealth and classes it as self-made.[4]
Wealth history
Forbes has included this entry in its annual World's Billionaires list in 26 of the editions from 2001 to 2026 checked for this profile, starting with 2001. The table gives the rank and estimated net worth in each annual list, and, where applicable, the rank and estimate in the Forbes 400 list of the richest Americans.[6][4]
| Year | World's Billionaires rank | Net worth (US$ bn) | Forbes 400 rank | Forbes 400 net worth (US$ bn) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | – | – | 226 | 0.8 |
| 1999 | – | – | 90 | 2.6 |
| 2000 | – | – | 226 | 10.0 |
| 2001 | 198 | 2.3 | 97 | 2.0 |
| 2002 | 200 | 2.1 | 149 | 1.3 |
| 2003 | 386 | 1.1 | 162 | 1.4 |
| 2004 | 310 | 1.8 | 165 | 1.5 |
| 2005 | 413 | 1.6 | 164 | 1.8 |
| 2006 | 317 | 2.4 | 160 | 2.0 |
| 2007 | 458 | 2.1 | 195 | 2.3 |
| 2008 | 652 | 1.9 | 262 | 1.8 |
| 2009 | 559 | 1.3 | 212 | 1.6 |
| 2010 | 582 | 1.7 | 238 | 1.7 |
| 2011 | 595 | 2.0 | 263 | 1.7 |
| 2012 | 719 | 1.8 | 271 | 1.8 |
| 2013 | 882 | 1.7 | 327 | 1.7 |
| 2014 | 925 | 1.9 | 284 | 2.2 |
| 2015 | 782 | 2.4 | 256 | 2.6 |
| 2016 | 666 | 2.6 | 214 | 3.1 |
| 2017 | 522 | 3.6 | 186 | 3.8 |
| 2018 | 588 | 3.8 | 190 | 3.9 |
| 2019 | 452 | 4.3 | 148 | 4.6 |
| 2020 | 538 | 3.5 | 148 | 4.7 |
| 2021 | 440 | 6.1 | 146 | 6.6 |
| 2022 | 324 | 7.3 | 128 | 6.7 |
| 2023 | 282 | 7.7 | 72 | 10.0 |
| 2024 | 132 | 14.1 | 45 | 16.9 |
| 2025 | 101 | 19.7 | 34 | 27.7 |
| 2026 | 73 | 30.8 | 31 | 33.8 |
International and political links
This section uses the same ten headings for every profile in this series. Only specific, sourced actions are included; company-level and foundation-level actions are labelled as such. Where nothing was found, the entry reads "No documented involvement found in sources checked."
Israel (investments, operations, donations, contracts, statements)
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Zionist or pro-Israel organisations and lobbying groups
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Jewish communal charities
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Gulf states
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
China
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Russia
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
India
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Palestinian or Arab causes
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Home government
He is a director of Broadcom. For his US federal donations, see Political activity.[2][10]
Other international links
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
See also
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Broadcom Inc., Definitive proxy statement (Schedule 14A) for the 2026 annual meeting US Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR), 2 March 2026, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Broadcom Inc., Registration statement on Form S-4 (signature page) US Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR), 10 September 2026, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 University of California, Irvine, UCI receives $200 million gift to name College of Health Sciences and launch major integrative health initiative UC Irvine News, 18 September 2017, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 Forbes, Forbes profile record for Henry Samueli (Forbes data feed behind forbes.com/profile/henry-samueli/) Forbes, live record, read 20 October 2026, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ Forbes, Forbes Real-Time Billionaires data feed Forbes, live; downloaded 20 October 2026 11:51 UTC, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Forbes, Forbes World's Billionaires list data feed, annual editions 2001–2026 (one file per year at this path with the year substituted; all 26 files downloaded and read) Forbes, annual lists; downloaded 20 October 2026, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ US Securities and Exchange Commission, Litigation Release No. 20574: SEC Charges Four Current and Former Broadcom Officers for Backdating Options SEC, 14 May 2008, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ US Securities and Exchange Commission, Litigation Release No. 21409: SEC Will Not Proceed Further Against Broadcom Officers For Backdating Stock Options Based on Rulings and Comments From the Court SEC, 4 February 2010, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ University of California, Irvine, A legacy of giving UC Irvine News, 18 September 2017, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 U.S. Federal Election Commission, OpenFEC Schedule A (itemised individual contributions) query, contributor name "SAMUELI, HENRY"; 2026 cycle shown in link, the 2022, 2024 and 2026 cycles were queried together with the same parameters; top 100 records by amount; compiler filtered records by employer/occupation and name and excluded memo entries U.S. Federal Election Commission, data as filed; queried 20 October 2026, accessed 20 October 2026.