Out as CEO, but not out of Nvidia: Jensen Huang’s family trusts still hold about 800 million shares as NVDA stock crashes 13%

Jensen Huang has resigned as Nvidia’s president and CEO after 33 years. His departure, announced on Thursday, November 12, came after reports that the board was considering his removal. CFO Colette Kress has taken over as interim CEO.

Nvidia shares fell more than 13% at Thursday’s open as investors faced a leadership change, fresh allegations and growing doubts about the AI boom.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that the board was preparing to remove Huang. CNBC confirmed late that evening that directors were meeting to decide his future, and the meeting ran into the night.


Reuters also reported that the board had been weighing his future before the resignation was announced. Huang co-founded Nvidia in 1993, and his run as CEO lasted 33 years.

The board’s own inquiry is separate from all this. It opened an independent investigation on 8 November, saying it had no reason to believe Nvidia’s secrets or national security had been compromised. Nvidia described the move as a response to reports that Huang had been the target of a foreign intelligence effort. The board hired the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to look into the spying allegations.

That investigation hasn’t reported yet. So the claims against Huang remain reports and allegations, not findings.

Why Jensen Huang resigned as Nvidia CEO after the board meeting

Two separate reports about Huang's personal relationships have added to the pressure surrounding his departure.

The first report concerns Alice Huang. As per the Financial Times, Huang was romantically involved with her. The New York Times reported that U.S. intelligence officials believe she is a spy for China’s Ministry of State Security. The Journal described her as an executive at Megaspeed, a Singapore-based data company that is a major Nvidia customer.

Huang addressed the matter in a message to staff on Sunday. “I was unfaithful to my wife,” he wrote. He said his actions had hurt her and their children, and that there was no excuse.

The second report came on Wednesday. The New York Times said Huang had a relationship with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia’s vice president of health care. It said the two were reportedly filmed being affectionate at a hotel in San Jose, California, in March.

Nvidia and Powell didn’t respond to CNBC’s requests for comment. Wired has reported that Huang hired Heller, a crisis PR firm, as early as last year. Heller didn’t respond either. A former employee, who asked not to be named, told CNBC that rumours about the two had circulated for years.

Powell has run the health care group since 2017. It’s a small part of Nvidia. The company makes chips for medical devices and MRI machines, but that business is tiny next to its AI systems and graphics processing units, or GPUs.

There’s a political thread too. ABC News reported that House Republicans were considering a subpoena for Huang. The board said in a statement that it prioritises U.S. national and economic security.

Nvidia stock crashes 13% as investors react to Huang's exit

Nvidia’s stock fell more than 13% at Thursday’s open, according to CNBC. On Wednesday it had already dropped more than 9% in after-hours trading, once the Journal’s report landed.

The shares were down 7% for the week before that drop, and were on course for a sixth straight weekly decline. CNBC linked this to wider doubts about whether the AI buildout can keep going at its current pace. It also noted that data-centre stocks had been hit after the midterm elections, where Democrats won both houses of Congress and ballot measures appeared that could make building data centres harder.

Huang's ownership of Nvidia

Around 800 million shares are held through trusts co-owned by Huang and his wife. He also owns approximately 70 million shares directly. Together, these holdings represent roughly 3.6% of Nvidia.

Huang did not hold special super-voting shares. Such shares allow founders at some technology companies to retain greater voting power than ordinary shareholders.

His 3.6% stake therefore did not give him the power to overrule the board. Directors retained the authority to make decisions about the company's leadership.

Finding a permanent replacement could be Nvidia's biggest challenge. Huang was not just the company's CEO. He had become the public face of the global AI industry.

Customers, investors and competitors often referred to him simply as Jensen. His leadership helped turn Nvidia's GPUs into essential hardware for training AI models and running large AI workloads.

Wall Street analysts have also pointed to the lack of an obvious successor. Colette Kress will handle the company as interim CEO while the board searches for a permanent replacement.

The next important date for Nvidia investors is November 17. The company is scheduled to report its third-quarter financial results. It will be Nvidia's first earnings announcement since Huang's departure.