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American billionaire Jensen Huang will forfeit about $108 million in unvested stock awards after leaving Nvidia, Bloomberg reported, a loss that is small beside his fortune but marks the first concrete cost of his exit as chief executive.
Huang holds about 346,000 unvested restricted stock units, and company policy says such awards are forfeited when an executive’s continuous service ends, according to Bloomberg. The $108 million is roughly 0.08% of his net worth, which the Bloomberg Billionaires Index puts at $138.4 billion. He would also have received about 310,000 shares under the company’s equity plan if performance targets had been met, the report said. Neither Huang nor Nvidia was quoted, and the report did not say what filing or document disclosed the forfeiture.
The loss is modest because Huang’s wealth does not rest on pay. He controls about 3.5% of Nvidia, a stake that makes up nearly 97% of his fortune, Bloomberg said. Nvidia has a single class of stock, so he holds no special voting rights. His cash compensation was about $7.5 million in each of the past two years, which shows how little of his wealth came from salary.
The paper cost of the exit has been far larger in the market. Nvidia shares fell as much as 14% in New York on Thursday before closing down 4.3% at $166.19, wiping more than $6 billion from his net worth. Billionaires.Africa reported that the drop took him down to 13th place on the list of the world’s richest people, with a $6.4 billion loss in a day.
The forfeiture follows a fast-moving sequence. Billionaires.Africa reported on Nov. 12 that Huang resigned after a board investigation, with chief financial officer Colette Kress taking over as interim chief executive. The outlet also reported that Elon Musk said he would hire Huang, though Huang has not announced what he will do next.
The report did not say whether Huang keeps a board seat, and it gave no details of any severance. The article also describes the departure inconsistently, calling Huang “ousted” in one place, while Nvidia’s announcement described a resignation.
Meanwhile, the company faces a test of investor confidence. Nvidia is due to report third-quarter results on Nov. 17, its first under Kress. The company had also approved a record $150 billion share buyback in September, as Billionaires.Africa reported, which gives it a tool to support the stock if investors stay nervous.
As a result, the $108 million forfeiture is a small number for Huang personally, but it adds to the sense that his departure is costing him something real, and the Nov. 17 earnings report will show how the market judges Nvidia without him.
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