Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is the world’s 10th-richest person, with a personal net worth of $155 billion. Derived mainly from his equity in the semiconductor company, Huang's fortune reportedly shrank sharply after Nvidia’s board launched an independent investigation into his relationship with a suspected Chinese spy.
Jensen Huang co-founded graphics chip maker Nvidia in 1993. Since then, he has served as the company’s CEO and president. He owns more than 3.5% of Nvidia.
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According to a Forbes report, Huang, who previously ranked 8th in Forbes’ billionaire rankings, fell two ranks and lost $7.4 billion in net worth amid the scandal.
Waiter to tech leader:
Huang, born in Taiwan, moved to Thailand as a child. However, he later moved to the US with his brother. He got his first job at age 15 working the graveyard shift as a dishwasher, busboy, and waiter at a local Denny's restaurant.
He went on to earn an electrical engineering degree from Oregon State University in 1984, where he also met his future wife, Lori. He later earned a master's degree from Stanford University.
{{/usCountry}}He went on to earn an electrical engineering degree from Oregon State University in 1984, where he also met his future wife, Lori. He later earned a master's degree from Stanford University.
{{/usCountry}}He co-founded Nvidia with Chris Malachowsky and Curtis Priem in 1993. In a conversation with CBS 60 Minutes, he said the company started with $40,000 in capital.
After an initial microchip design failed to gain market traction, Nvidia was months away from total bankruptcy. Huang made a high-stakes pivot to focus on PC graphics processing, which saved the company and paved the way for Nvidia's public debut in 1999. Today, it is a billion-dollar company that employs nearly 30,000 people worldwide.
Huang’s net worth reached historical highs as Nvidia’s market capitalisation crossed multi-trillion-dollar thresholds during the global AI boom. However, his net worth has recently fluctuated sharply due to overall stock volatility and an internal corporate board investigation into personal misconduct.
How did the scandal unfold?
Questions about Jensen Huang's relationship with Alice Huang began to emerge publicly in October. Times reported that US intelligence officials believed that Alice was "a Chinese intelligence asset" and had a close relationship with the CEO. It sparked rumours of an affair, which Nvidia then denied.
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In late October, Huang told Bloomberg, "Our relationship, our interactions, have been related to Megaspeed, and it was all completely normal and not unusual."
However, on November 8, he admitted to having an affair with Alice, suspected of being a Chinese spy. He admitted to it in an email to Nvidia employees.
Following this, the Nvidia board launched an investigation into the matter.
Read full statement from the Nvidia board:
The NVIDIA Board is initiating an independent investigation in light of recent reporting that founder and CEO Jensen Huang has been the target of a foreign intelligence effort.
A committee of independent directors, assisted by outside independent counsel, will oversee the investigation.
The Board prioritizes U.S. national and economic security, which is paramount to the interests of NVIDIA and its shareholders.
While the Board has no reason to believe that either national security or NVIDIA secrets were compromised, the Board's inquiry will examine all available information.
Jensen fully supports the review and has committed to cooperating with it.
The Board has confidence in Jensen and his leadership team and will provide further updates as appropriate.