Get All Access for $5/mo

This Tech CEO Just Got $4.2 Billion Richer Overnight As Nvidia's stock soars so does Jensen Huang's personal fortune.

By Jonathan Small

Key Takeaways

  • AI chip company Nvidia jumped 100% in revenue this year far exceeding analysts' projections.
  • Company co-founder and CEO Jensen Huang increased his fortune by over $4 billion.
  • Huang is now among the 24 richest men in the world and the richest in the semiconductor business.

Jensen Huang is having a really good week.

On Wednesday, the CEO and co-founder of Nvidia surpassed all predictions with a Q2 revenue projection, thanks to the surge in demand for its A.I. chips. The company also announced a stock buyback of $25 billion, leading to a significant spike in its after-hours share prices.

Earlier today, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index announced that Huang's fortune rocketed from $38 billion to $42 billion, making the 60-year-old Taiwanese entrepreneur one of the world's 25 richest men.

Related: NVIDIA Wants You To Talk To Side Characters In the Virtual World and Have a Customizable Experience

Exceeding all expectations

Nvidia makes a fortune by manufacturing chips that execute all sorts of intricate A.I. functions such as image analysis, facial and speech recognition, and generating text for chatbots like ChatGPT.

The New York Times recently called Nvidia "a one-stop shop for A.I. development" crediting their success with banking on the A.I. boom earlier than everyone else (at least 10 years ago).

How dominant is the company? Research firm Omdia reported that Nvidia sold 70 percent of all A.I. chips sales in 2022, and the company continues to be a market leader in training generative A.I. models. Basically, Nvidia has a near-monopoly on the computing systems that power services like ChatGPT.

On Wednesday, Nvidia achieved almost legendary status after it announced its reported revenue of $13.51 billion, a 101% jump from last year. Analysts had expected revenue to come in at $11.04 billion, according to Yahoo.

Who is billionaire Jensen Huang?

Known for his black leather jacket, Huang is now the world's richest semiconductor entrepreneur in the world. His latest earnings put him only $300 million behind TikTok founder Zhang Yiming.

Huang founded NVIDIA in 1993 when it was a PC graphics company. The company eventually helped build the gaming market into the monster it is today with the invention of the GPU, which makes modern computer graphics possible. More recently, GPU deep learning ignited the modern AI movement — with the GPU acting as the brain of computers, robots, and self-driving cars.

"Smart people focus on the right things," Huang told Venture Beat in an interview.

Jonathan Small

Entrepreneur Staff

Founder, Strike Fire Productions

Jonathan Small is a bestselling author, journalist, producer, and podcast host. For 25 years, he has worked as a sought-after storyteller for top media companies such as The New York Times, Hearst, Entrepreneur, and Condé Nast. He has held executive roles at Glamour, Fitness, and Entrepreneur and regularly contributes to The New York Times, TV Guide, Cosmo, Details, Maxim, and Good Housekeeping. He is the former “Jake” advice columnist for Glamour magazine and the “Guy Guru” at Cosmo.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick

Leadership

7 Telltale Signs of a Weak Leader

Whether a bully or a people pleaser who can't tell hard truths, poor leadership takes many forms.

Business Solutions

Still Paying for Adobe Acrobat? Try This Instead.

Everything you need in a PDF editor—minus the subscription.

Business Ideas

63 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2024

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2024.

Franchise

How Franchising Can Alleviate Entrepreneurial Imposter Syndrome

The franchise model can alleviate entrepreneurial imposter syndrome and provide an alternative path towards professional independence.

Side Hustle

At Age 15, He Used Facebook Marketplace to Start a Side Hustle — Then It Became Something Much Bigger: 'Raised Over $1.6 Million'

Dylan Zajac, now a 21-year-old senior at Babson College, wanted to bridge the digital divide.