Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang cashes out $1 billion as AI chip demand fuels massive stock rally
Nvidia Corp’s Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang has completed a massive pre-planned stock sale, offloading more than $1 billion worth of the chipmaker’s shares since June.
This massive stock liquidation, which reportedly wrapped up with a final sale of 25,000 shares on Friday, fulfilled a plan Huang adopted in March to sell up to six million shares by the end of this year.
The stock Huang sold was initially valued at $865 million when the sales began in late June. However, driven by “unquenchable demand” for artificial intelligence processors, the stock has climbed over 40% since then, pushing the final sale value well past the $1 billion mark, Bloomberg reported.
CEO cashes in on AI boom
The California-based company became the first to reach a $5 trillion market value on Wednesday after announcing new partnerships, just four months after the company surpassed the $4 trillion mark. It has minted three new billionaires this year alone, including board member Brooke Seawell, who joined their ranks as the stock shot up in recent days.
Huang, 62, currently holds the ninth spot on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index with a $175.7 billion fortune, having gained $61.3 billion this year alone.
According to Bloomberg’s calculations, the CEO retains a 3.5% stake in Nvidia, having sold more than $2.9 billion of the company’s stock since 2001. In addition to the sales, he has also donated shares worth more than $300 million this year to his foundation and a donor-advised fund.
Insider selling wave
Huang isn’t the only company insider who is cashing out on the artificial intelligence wave. Arista Networks Inc. CEO Jayshree Ullal, surpassed Huang’s record by selling $861 million of stock, and was ranked only behind Amazon.com Inc. Chairman Jeff Bezos in terms of top company insider sellers.
Nvidia insider sellers, including Huang, unloaded nearly $1.5 billion of stock through the third quarter, according to Washington Service data. In 2024, Nvidia insiders sold more than $2 billion, up from $462 million in 2023.
Even though many companies have benefited from the AI gold rush, Nvidia stood out in the trend of wealth creation, with seven billionaires emerging from the company, including Huang, among its ranks.
Nvidia board member Tench Coxe recently joined the list of the world’s 500 richest people with a net worth of $7.5 billion. Fellow director Mark Stevens ranks 247th with a $12.5 billion fortune, made up of Nvidia stock and partial ownership of the Golden State Warriors, Bloomberg reported.