There’s a lot in the alignment system that is inconsistent, and there is a great degree of variation among portrayals. This is not one of those.
Lex Luthor commits evil acts, and its his regular pattern. No one is making him do those acts. It is irrelevant if he does so “to profit” (which you probably mean loosely, Lex wants a lot of things other than just money, like power and knowledge).
There are some characters in D&D supplements that are neutral and yet are willing to do evil things for pay or because they have other affiliations with evil characters. Lex does not fit that profile. Henchmen do not typically fit that profile either, and in fact, most mercenary villains in DC and Marvel don’t fit that profile (they are otherwise inclined to commit evil acts, they are not true switch hitters).