NVIDIA's Jensen Huang's wealth doubled this year: Who is he
NVIDIA and its graphic processing units (GPUs) are at the center of the ongoing AI revolution. Last week, the company's shares rose 24% in a single day, taking it closer to a $1 trillion valuation. The semiconductor company has caught the attention of everyone with its rally. So has its CEO and co-founder Jensen Huang, the 37th richest person in the world.
Huang's net worth increased by 153% this year
NVIDIA's rally last week was reflected in Huang's net worth. According to Bloomberg Billionaires Index, his fortunes soared by nearly $7 billion. Since the start of this year, Huang's net worth has increased by $21.1 billion, a 152.8% rise. He is currently worth $34.9 billion. With NVIDIA's stock projected to rise further, Huang will also see a similar increase.
He was born in Taipei
Now one of the richest men in the world, Huang was born Jen-hsun Huang in Taipei in 1963. He spent the initial part of his childhood in Taiwan and Thailand. When he was around nine years old, Huang's parents sent him to the US. They soon joined him in the country. He first lived in Oneida, Kentucky, and then Oregon.
Huang went to a Baptist reformist school by accident
New to the US, Huang's aunt and uncle sent him and his brother to the Oneida Baptist Institute. In a 2002 interview with Wired, Huang said it was a reformist school instead of a prep school. The kids there were really tough, Huang said in an NPR interview in 2012. Students had to work there, and Huang's duty was to clean the bathrooms.
He donated $2 million to the institute
Despite the environment, Huang loved his time at Oneida Baptist Institute. He and his wife Lori later donated $2 million to the school to build a female dormitory and a classroom building.
Huang holds a master's in electrical engineering from Stanford University
After his time at Oneida, he moved to Oregon. Huang holds an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering from the Oregon State University (OSU). During his freshman year there, he met Lori Mills, who later became his wife. Huang also holds a master's degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University. He graduated from OSU in 1984 and Stanford in 1992.
He co-founded NVIDIA in 1993 with two friends
After graduating from OSU, Huang worked at LSI Logic and Advanced Micro Devices. In 1993, a year after he graduated from Stanford, he co-founded NVIDIA along with Chris Malachowsky and Curtis Priem. He has been the president and CEO of NVIDIA since its inception. He currently owns about 3.5% of NVIDIA's stock. In 2019, Harvard Business Review named him the world's best CEO.
The demand for NVIDIA's GPUs has skyrocketed
NVIDIA is now the poster child of the AI boom. The increase in the demand for its advanced GPUs is the chief driver of its growth. From start-ups to Big Tech, everybody wants NVIDIA's chips to make their AI dreams come true. This increase in demand was reflected in NVIDIA's quarterly report. Surprising everyone, the company projected second-quarter revenue of $11 billion.
