Edward Lampert | |
---|---|
Born |
Roslyn, New York, US |
July 19, 1962
Nationality | American |
Occupation | Businessman, investor |
Net worth | $2.2 Billion USD (September 2016) |
Spouse(s) | Kinga Lampert |
Children | 3 |
Parent(s) | Floyd M. Lampert Dolores Lampert |
Edward Scott Lampert (born July 19, 1962) is an American businessman and investor. He is the chairman and CEO of Sears Holdings (SHLD) and founder, chairman, and CEO of ESL Investments. Until May 2007 he was a director of AutoNation, Inc. He previously served as a director of AutoZone, Inc. from July 1999 to October 2006.
Lampert was born in 1962 to Dolores Lampert and Floyd M. Lampert. His mother was a housewife. His father was a senior partner in the law firm of Lampert & Lampert in New York City. He has a younger sister Tracey. Lampert's grandmother was a passive investor and big fan of Louis Rukeyser's Wall Street Week television program. She instilled in him an interest in investing. His mother would later recall that young Eddie would sit with his grandmother reviewing and evaluating the performance of her stock picks in the daily newspaper.
Lampert's father died at the age of 47 and his mother took a job as a clerk at Saks Fifth Avenue. His mother would later say: "Eddie really assumed the responsibility, knowing that life had changed and we had to accomplish something by ourselves now." In order to help support his family, Eddie worked after school and on weekends at various warehouses, stocking shelves and filling orders. Despite working, he earned good grades, played both soccer and basketball, and won the scholar athlete award at his high school. He received financial aid to help pay for college. Lampert graduated from Yale University in 1984 (B.A., economics, summa cum laude), where he was a member of Skull and Bones and Phi Beta Kappa.
In July 1984, Lampert worked as an intern at Goldman Sachs, and then worked in the firm's risk arbitrage department from March 1985 to February 1988. While there, he worked directly with Robert Rubin. When Lampert decided to go out on his own, Rubin warned him it would be a bad career decision.