From Business Insider · Sarah Jackson · · 2m
Jensen Huang's $158 billion fortune and the China scandal
Nvidia's CEO built his wealth from nothing, but now faces questions about a relationship that US officials say involved Chinese intelligence.
In brief
Nvidia's CEO built his wealth from nothing, but now faces questions about a relationship that US officials say involved Chinese intelligence. Jensen Huang's net worth reached $158.7 billion as Nvidia became the world's most valuable company, but he now faces an investigation into whether he was targeted by foreign…
From dishwashing to $158 billion
Jensen Huang, Nvidia's CEO since cofounding the company in 1993, has a net worth of $158.7 billion. He started his career washing dishes and cleaning toilets at Denny's.
Nvidia's trillion-dollar rise
Nvidia hit a trillion-dollar valuation in 2023. In July 2025, it became the first company to crack the four trillion dollar mark. By October 2025, its stock reached an all-time high.
Huang's stake and compensation
As of March 2025, Huang owned roughly 3.77% of Nvidia's outstanding shares, making him the company's largest individual shareholder. For fiscal year 2025, his total compensation was $49.8 million.
His 2024 share sale
Huang followed a prearranged trading plan in 2024 to sell 6 million shares by the end of the first quarter of 2025, offloading roughly $700 million in Nvidia shares.
How Huang spends his wealth
Huang owns property in California and Hawaii. He is known for wearing leather jackets, including one lizard-embossed Tom Ford jacket retailing for $8,990. He has given millions to philanthropic causes.
Donations to universities
In 2007, Huang and his wife established the Jen-Hsun and Lori Huang Foundation.They gave $50 million to Oregon State University, $30 million to Stanford University, and $22.5 million to the California College of the Arts.
The Alice Huang relationship
In October 2026, The New York Times reported that US officials believed Alice Huang, an executive at Nvidia customer Megaspeed, had been recruited to gather information about Nvidia for the Chinese government.
Huang's admission and investigation
On November 8, Huang told employees he had been unfaithful to his wife of more than 40 years. Nvidia's board launched an independent investigation into whether he was targeted by a foreign intelligence effort.
“he had been unfaithful to his wife of more than 40 years and apologized to his family”
Board's confidence despite scandal
Nvidia's board said it still has confidence in Huang's leadership and has no reason to believe company secrets or national security have been compromised by the foreign intelligence effort.
The bottom line
Jensen Huang's net worth reached $158.7 billion as Nvidia became the world's most valuable company, but he now faces an investigation into whether he was targeted by foreign intelligence.
