Jensen Huang's exit from Nvidia has come with a $108 million (around Rs 900 crore) hit to his personal wealth, as the company's unvested stock awards are set to be forfeited. However, the financial setback is relatively small compared with his overall fortune, with nearly 97% of his wealth still tied to his shareholding in the chipmaker, according to Bloomberg.
The relinquished equity compensation accounts for just 0.08% of Huang's estimated net worth of $138.4 billion, as per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. In other words, while his departure comes with a sizeable payout loss, it barely dents his billionaire status.
The forfeiture stems from Nvidia's equity compensation policy, under which executives lose their unvested restricted stock units (RSUs) when their continuous service with the company ends.
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According to Bloomberg, Huang holds approximately 346,000 unvested RSUs. These awards could have translated into around 310,000 Nvidia shares under the company's equity incentive plan, subject to the achievement of specified performance targets.
With his departure, however, these shares will no longer be available to him.
Unlike several other technology executives, whose fortunes are spread across stock options, compensation packages and other investments, Huang's wealth is overwhelmingly linked to his ownership of Nvidia shares.
Bloomberg reported that the 63-year-old co-founder controls approximately 3.5% of the company's voting stake. His Nvidia holding alone accounts for nearly 97% of his estimated fortune.
Nvidia has only one class of shares, meaning Huang does not enjoy any special or enhanced voting rights through a separate class of stock.
His regular cash compensation is also relatively modest when measured against his overall wealth. Huang received approximately $7.5 million in cash compensation in each of the past two years, a fraction of his multibillion-dollar fortune.
While the loss of unvested shares is relatively insignificant, Huang's departure has had a more immediate impact through Nvidia's stock market performance.
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Following news of his exit, Nvidia shares fell as much as 14% during trading in New York before recovering some ground to close 4.3% lower at $166.19.
The decline erased more than $6 billion from Huang's net worth, according to Bloomberg. This market-driven decline is considerably larger than the $108 million in equity awards he stands to forfeit. It also highlights how closely his personal fortune remains linked to Nvidia's market valuation.
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