Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s wealth has tripled to $44 billion this year, making him one of the biggest moneymakers of 2023

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s wealth has tripled this year to $44 billion, making him one of the top moneymakers of 2023.

The microchip giant’s cofounder has added $30.2 billion to his net worth since the start of January, propelling him to 28th place on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index as of Thursday’s market close. Centibillionaires like Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos have seen their fortunes grow by considerably more, but nobody ranked below 14th on the rich list saw a bigger gain than Huang in dollar terms this year.

Huang saw a greater increase in wealth this year than Bernard Arnault ($17 billion), Warren Buffett ($13 billion), Carlos Slim ($30.1 billion) or Mukesh Ambani ($10 billion). His rise in net worth has nearly matched the gains seen by Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates ($31 billion),  Larry Ellison ($32 billion), and Amancio Ortega ($33.1 billion). All seven of those men occupied top 14 spots in Bloomberg’s index at the time of writing.

The Nvidia chief’s rapid ascent up the wealth standings primarily reflects the 240% rise in his company’s stock this year. That has boosted the value of his nearly 87 million shares, or 3.5% ownership stake, to about $43 billion.

Nvidia shares rocketed higher this year as investors wagered its graphics chips would power the AI revolution. Sky-high demand for processors nearly doubled the company’s revenue for the nine months through October to $39 billion, and boosted its operating income to $19 billion compared to about $3 billion in the same period last year, its latest earnings show. Even high-profile customers like Elon Musk haven’t been able to source as many of the company’s chips as they’d like for AI-related projects.

The chipmaker’s stock has also benefited from a bullish swing in market sentiment this year. US inflation has slowed from a 40-year high of over 9% last summer to below 4% in recent months, annualized GDP growth surged to nearly 5% in the third quarter, and the Federal Reserve recently signaled it may be done hiking interest rates and might cut them in the coming months — a move that promises to stimulate the economy and boost the relative appeal of stocks versus bonds and savings accounts.

The potent combination of AI buzz and a brighter outlook for markets and the economy have boosted technology stocks like Nvidia and bolstered the fortunes of shareholders like Huang this year. Whether he’ll continue to climb the ranks of the world’s wealthiest people in 2024, or see his net worth take a dive, is an open question.