Jensen Huang, co‑founder and long‑time leader of Nvidia, admitted to an extramarital relationship with a woman whom U.S. authorities consider a suspected Chinese intelligence operative. Following the admission, Huang resigned from his positions as Nvidia CEO and chair on Thursday after the company’s board launched an investigation the previous Sunday.
Who is involved and what are the allegations
Reports say three relationships are under scrutiny: one with the alleged Chinese agent and two with other Nvidia employees. U.S. authorities have identified the alleged agent as Alice Huang, former executive of the Singapore‑based data center company Megaspeed, and say she was recruited by the Ministry of State Security of the People’s Republic of China to collect information.
Financial impact: about $19 billion lost
According to the real‑time Forbes billionaire tracker, Huang’s wealth has declined steadily since the start of the week. He was estimated at $162.2 billion before markets opened on Monday. By the close of trading on Thursday Forbes estimated his net worth at $143 billion, an $8.2 billion loss for that day. Overall, across the four‑day span Huang’s fortune fell by $19.2 billion, roughly 11.84 percent.
Breaking the movement down by day, Forbes reports that Huang lost $7.4 billion on Monday and a further $8.4 billion on Tuesday, then recovered $5.9 billion on Wednesday after Nvidia’s shares were supported by a strong quarterly report from CoreWeave, one of Nvidia’s largest partners. On Thursday Nvidia shares closed down 4.3 percent at $166.19.
Rankings and market capitalization
As a result of these shifts, Huang dropped from the eighth to the thirteenth richest person in the world during the week. Nvidia’s market capitalization at Thursday’s close was a little over $4 trillion. The company reached a peak market value of $5.8 trillion in early October; at that time some analysts suggested it could surpass $6 trillion. October proved volatile for AI‑linked stocks, including Nvidia, as several weak earnings reports and the outcomes of November elections put pressure on prices.
Background
Jensen Huang co‑founded Nvidia in 1993 and led the company through its 1999 initial public offering. He owns about 3.5 percent of the company’s shares. With his resignation he also stepped down from the company’s board after 33 years.
The developing scandal has had an immediate effect on Huang’s personal wealth and Nvidia’s short‑term market performance, and it has prompted ongoing investigations and likely further board actions.
