Nvidia is the most valued company, yet its CEO isn’t the top 10 richest - find out why

Richest people in the world: While Nvidia has become the world’s most valuable company, yet its cofounder and CEO, Jensen Huang, ranks only 10th on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Jensen Huang's Net Worth vs Other Billionaires

As of Monday’s close, Huang’s net worth stood at $147 billion. That puts him just behind Warren Buffett, who is worth $148 billion, as per a report. What makes that surprising is that Buffett’s company, Berkshire Hathaway, is valued at just about a quarter of Nvidia’s market cap, and Buffett has given away more than half of his shares to foundations since 2006, as per a Business Insider report.

It’s not just Buffett, even Bernard Arnault, who ranks eighth with a $164 billion wealth, owns LVMH, a company worth under $300 billion, which is less than a tenth of Nvidia’s value, according to the report.


ALSO READ: What happened? Analyst slashes Nvidia stock target despite year-to-date gains

Who Is The Richest Person In The World

Meanwhile, at the top of the list was Tesla CEO Elon Musk until Tuesday but has now been over taken by Oracle's co-founder Larry Ellison on Wednesday, with a net worth of $393 billion, ahead of Musk who is now valued at $385 billion, reported Bloomberg, citing the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

ALSO READ: After firing thousands, Oracle’s Larry Ellison could overtake Musk as the richest person today as stock skyrockets

How Jensen Huang’s Net Worth Compares to Elon Musk

Musk's net worth is striking as the two companies that make up a massive share of Musk's wealth, Tesla and SpaceX, are together valued around $1.6 trillion, which is less than 40% of Nvidia's market value, as per the Business Insider report.

Why Jensen Huang Ranks Only 10th on the Billionaires List

However, Huang's ranks 10th due to one main reason is dilution. Before Nvidia's IPO in 1999, Huang owned 12.8% of the company, which means that stake would be worth more than $500 billion at present, as per the report.

Even though it's common for founders to sell shares and see their ownership diluted when their companies go public, Huang has seen way more significant and prolonged fall in his stake, reported Business Insider. Huang's stake in the AI chipmaker fell to 9.9% in 1999, 7.1% in 2003, 4.4% in 2010, then stabilized between 3.5% and 4% from 2020 through this summer, reported Business Insider, citing filings.

ALSO READ: Papa John’s croissant pizza debuts in US for only one day - Here’s how to get it today

Meanwhile, for comparison, Buffett owns about 14% of Berkshire, Arnault owns almost half of LVMH, and Musk owns around 13% of Tesla and 42% of SpaceX, as per the Business Insider report.

Huang's percentage ownership has fallen by more than two-thirds as Nvidia has issued massive amounts of shares to provide equity for its employees, according to the report. The chipmaker reported $14 billion of unearned stock-based compensation as of July 27, much of which it expected to recognize in around two years' time, as per the Business Insider report.

Nvidia has offset some of the dilution via stock buybacks, but its outstanding shares have increased from a split-adjusted 1.7 billion when it went public, to north of 23 billion now, which is about a 14-fold rise, reported Business Insider.

Another reason that Huang's stake has reduced is because he has sold shares, including a prearranged trading plan to sell of up to 6 million shares this year, worth about $1 billion at Nvidia's current stock price, as per the report.

While the rich list keeps changing as companies' market caps fluctuate, but Huang's smaller stake means he's unlikely to top it anytime soon, as per the Business Insider report.

FAQs

Why isn’t Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang the richest person in the world?
Even though Nvidia is the world’s most valuable company, Jensen Huang owns a relatively small stake due to years of stock dilution and share sales, which keeps him lower on the billionaire rankings.

How much is Jensen Huang worth in 2025?
As of the latest data, Jensen Huang’s net worth is estimated at $147 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, as per the Business Insider report.