Jensen Huang loses $23.8 bn in four days after scandal breaks; Nvidia’s market cap falls by $490 bn
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Jensen Huang’s personal fortune has taken a significant hit this week, with the outgoing Nvidia CEO losing $23.8 billion in just four days as reports of alleged extramarital relationships added to pressure on the world's leading AI chipmaker. The selloff in Nvidia shares has also wiped off nearly $490 billion of the company’s market capitalisation during the same period.
Huang’s net worth fell from $162.2 billion ahead of the US market opening on Monday to $138.4 billion on Thursday, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. This represents a decline of around 14.7% in four days.
The wealth erosion is equivalent to approximately ₹2.25 lakh crore at current exchange rates, which is equivalent to the market capitalization of major Indian blue-chip companies like Wipro, IndiGo, and Hindalco.
Huang slips from eighth to 13th among the world's richest people
Huang, who was ranked eighth among the world’s richest people at the start of the week, has slipped to 13th place, according to the Bloomberg index.
The fall in Huang's wealth comes amid mounting pressure on Nvidia shares. The world's second-most valuable company, after Apple, came under stress following reports about the CEO's alleged extramarital relationships, fuelling questions about its leadership and corporate governance.
Nvidia shares fell as much as 14% during Thursday's trading session to hit a 52-week low of $148.80 before recovering most of their losses to close 4.3% lower at $166.19. The decline took the company's market capitalisation to around $4.01 trillion, down nearly $490 billion from approximately $4.5 trillion at the end of the previous week.
The stock came under heavy selling pressure on Thursday after Huang resigned as CEO and president, as well as from the company’s board. Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress has taken over as interim CEO.
The latest sell-off adds to the pressure on Nvidia shares, which have remained volatile amid concerns over stretched valuations and the sustainability of massive investments in artificial intelligence infrastructure. The company’s market capitalisation peaked at around $5.75 trillion on October 5 but has since fallen by roughly $1.75 trillion to around $4 trillion.
On November 8, Huang addressed Nvidia employees and acknowledged an extramarital affair with Alice Huang, a technology executive linked to Singapore-based data centre company Megaspeed International.
Reports also raised allegations about possible links between Alice Huang and Chinese intelligence, prompting scrutiny and an investigation by Nvidia’s board. Further reports alleged that Huang had relationships with two Nvidia employees. These claims have not been independently established.
Huang to forfeit $108 million in unvested stock awards
Huang will also forfeit around $108 million in unvested Nvidia equity compensation following his departure. However, the amount represents only around 0.08% of his estimated net worth of $138.4 billion, according to Bloomberg.
He holds approximately 346,000 restricted stock units, of which around 310,000 shares could have vested depending on performance targets. The unvested awards will be forfeited following the end of his service with the company.
Huang co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and led its transformation from a graphics chipmaker into a dominant supplier of processors used in artificial intelligence systems and data centres. The company’s rise during the AI boom made him one of the world’s wealthiest technology executives.