Jensen Huang Forfeits $108 Million After Nvidia Ouster

Former Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang will forfeit about $108 million in unvested equity compensation after being ousted from Nvidia, representing roughly 0.08% of his net worth.

The relinquished awards total R1.798 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which places Huang’s fortune at $138.4 billion. Huang stepped down on Thursday after disclosures of extramarital affairs, including one involving a suspected Chinese spy, throwing the chipmaking giant into an abrupt leadership crisis.

Asian stocks traded on steadier footing on Friday following a turbulent week dominated by the Nvidia executive’s resignation. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.26%, clawing back a portion of the 1.3% fall recorded during the previous session.

“His departure leaves a vacuum that will be difficult to fill… We do not assume existing commitments change, but new deals could take longer or require more compensation as investors look for reassurance about Nvidia’s role,” analysts at JPMorgan said in a note.

Nvidia shares fell 3% in extended trading. Customer equities mirrored the decline, with South Korea’s Naver dropping 2.75% on Friday.

Competitors such as AMD, Arista, and Broadcom could benefit from the disruption. “If you think about the uncertainty that’s created about a potential management change, investors are going to look for alternatives,” said Jon Zauderer, Citi’s head of specialist sales and a TMT specialist.

U.S. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott sent letters on Thursday to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Huang, requesting their testimony regarding recent events at Nvidia. Meanwhile, internal employee pushback materialized on corporate forums, where a petition urging Huang’s reinstatement drew over 1,600 comments.

Separate corporate developments on Friday included merger discussions between SpaceX and Tesla that could culminate in one of the largest corporate deals in history as early as December. In the cryptocurrency sector, the U.S. Justice Department obtained court authorization to seize or restrain $1.2 billion, or R19.976 billion, of funds frozen by Tether and Circle Internet Group following an October 29 attack on Binance.