Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Boasts of Creating Billionaires Amid AI Talent War

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says he's created more billionaires than any CEO in the world: 'Don't feel sad for anybody at my layer'

Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang has amassed a $151 billion net worth thanks to the success of his $4 trillion semiconductor company. And the ninth richest person in the world says he's bringing his team into the exclusive billionaire club thanks to Nvidia's envy-inducing compensation packages. "I've created more billionaires on my management team than any CEO in the world," Huang said recently during a panel hosted by venture capitalists running the All-In podcast. "They're doing just fine." Tech leaders at Meta, OpenAI, and Google are now also shelling out to attract top AI experts -- with Meta even attempting to poach OpenAI employees with $100 million signing bonuses, according to leader Sam Altman. With the AI race being so hot, chief executives are reaping billion-dollar net worth gains from their company's rising stock valuation, begging the question of whether their staffers are getting in on the pot of gold too. But Huang asserts that his employees are well-rewarded for Nvidia's success. "Don't feel sad for anybody at my layer," Huang said. "My layer is doing just fine." In fact, Huang noted that he personally reviews all employee compensation to ensure staffers' wallets are stuffed. While he said the rumor that he has a stash of stock options on deck "is nuts," he does confirm that he bumps wages every year to keep Nvidia workers happy. "I review everybody's compensation up to this day," Huang said. "I sort through all 42,000 employees, and 100% of the time I increase the company's spend on [operating expenses]. And the reason for that is because you take care of people, everything else takes care of itself." Fortune reached out to Huang for comment. Nvidia employs tens of thousands of people -- but having a small, nimble, well-funded AI team may be the ticket to the top. Huang emphasized that DeepSeek and Moonshot AI both have relatively slim AI crews, yet have capitulated to great business success. "150 or so AI researchers can probably, with enough funding behind them, create an OpenAI," Huang said during the panel. "OpenAI was about 150 people, [as well as] Deepmind. They're all about that size. There's something about the elegance of small teams." Once talent manages to get onto the lean-and-mean AI team at Nvidia, they have to reckon with Huang's cutthroat culture. Current and former staffers have described an "always-on" expectation, with one ex-employee saying she attended seven to 10 meetings every day, where fighting and shouting was common. The CEO's grindset has clearly bled into the way staffers approach their work, and Huang's leadership strategy entails pushing workers to the brink. But he isn't willing to give up and fire people if they can't do the job at hand, because he always thinks "they could improve." "I'd rather torture you into greatness because I believe in you," Huang said during a fireside chat with Stripe CEO Patrick Collison last year. While the CEO said he was being "tongue-in-cheek," he doubled down: "I think coaches that really believe in their team torture them into greatness." And there's an upside for working long hours and sitting through tense meetings -- Nvidia employees get special compensation perks. The tech company allows employees to contribute up to 15% of their salaries to buy up company shares at a 15% discount. One mid-level employee even reportedly bought in for 18 years, and retired with shares worth $62 million. It's a deal that's so lucrative that it's become "golden handcuffs" for many staffers who can't bear the thought of losing the perk. In 2023, Nvidia had a 2.7% turnover rate, compared to 17.7% in the semiconductor industry at large. As Huang said in an interview with 60 Minutes last year: "If you want to do extraordinary things, it shouldn't be easy."

Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang Says He's 'Created More Billionaires' Than Anyone Else -- Adding Two More This Week

Two of Nvidia's senior leaders are now billionaires, joining co-founder and CEO Jensen Huang on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Nvidia's Chief Financial Officer, Colette Kress, and the company's Executive Vice President of World Field Operations, Jay Puri, are now each worth more than one billion dollars due to their ownership of Nvidia stock, according to Bloomberg. Related: How Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Transformed a Graphics Card Company Into an AI Giant: 'One of the Most Remarkable Business Pivots in History' Kress, 57, owns nearly three million Nvidia shares and sold over 27,000 earlier this month for a cash amount of $4.7 million, according to a July 15 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. She joined Nvidia in 2013, when the company's market value was just over $9 billion, after nearly two decades at Cisco and Microsoft. The CFO graduated with an MBA in finance from Southern Methodist University, according to her LinkedIn profile. Meanwhile, Puri, 70, joined Nvidia even earlier, in 2005, when the company's market value was $6.25 billion. He oversees sales and marketing at Nvidia and was one of the first employees at Sun Microsystems, where he helped start its marketing department. An SEC filing from late June shows that he directly owns over 630,000 Nvidia shares worth more than $108 million, with indirect beneficial ownership of 20 million additional shares through various trusts. With the new additions, the total number of billionaires working at Nvidia is at least six people, Bloomberg reports. The ranks include longtime directors Mark Stevens, Tench Coxe, and Harvey Jones in addition to Huang, Kress, and Puri. Earlier this month, Nvidia achieved a milestone by becoming the first company in the world to hit a market value of $4 trillion, with the company's stock growing 44% over the past six months. Two years ago, Nvidia's market value was just $500 billion, highlighting its tremendous growth. Related: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Will Make Nearly $1 Billion This Year Just from Selling Stock Huang, who has served as Nvidia CEO since co-founding the company in 1993, said last week that he has "created more billionaires" on his management team than any other CEO in the world. The 62-year-old CEO passed Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett in net worth earlier this month and is currently the ninth-richest person in the world with a net worth of $153 billion. Huang co-founded Nvidia with former Sun Microsystems engineers Chris Malachowsky and Curtis Priem. Forbes estimated last year that Priem, who left Nvidia in 2003 after serving as its chief technical officer for a decade, had a net worth of $30 million. Malachowsky, who still works at Nvidia as a senior technology executive, has an undisclosed net worth, according to Business Insider. Related: Nvidia CEO Says '100% of Everybody's Jobs Will Be Changed' Due to AI Nvidia's stock growth has also minted millionaires -- who still show up to work in the office. Employees who have been with Nvidia for five years are likely millionaires now, with a $77,700 stock grant received in 2019 worth more than $1.6 million today, according to Finlo's investment calculator. The rise in net worth has led to an increase in "semi-retired" employees who still work at Nvidia, but boast greater personal wealth. At a December 2023 meeting, Nvidia employees asked Huang how to address "semi-retired" employees, and the CEO responded by asking every employee to take responsibility for their work.

'Created more billionaires on my management team than any CEO': Jensen Huang says his team is richer than most CEOs

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang believes small, focused AI teams can drive massive impact when given the right resources. Speaking at a US tech forum, he said his leadership has produced more billionaires than any CEO. Huang also revealed he personally oversees staff compensation, using machine learning across 42,000 employees. In China, he struck a different chord -- donning traditional attire, speaking Mandarin and signalling a warmer stance towards the region during a key supply chain event in Beijing.

Jensen Huang Says He's Created More Billionaires Than Any CEO: 'Don't Feel Sad For Anybody At My Layer' - Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG), Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

As the Donald Trump administration unveiled its AI policy plan, Nvidia Corp. NVDA CEO Jensen Huang joined top Silicon Valley figures to weigh in on the cutthroat battle for AI talent and compensation during a live podcast in Washington, D.C. What Happened: Earlier this week, appearing on the All-in podcast alongside venture capitalists Chamath Palihapitiya and Jason Calacanis, Huang pushed back on concerns about executive-level compensation amid billion-dollar offers for AI researchers. During the conversation, Palihapitiya raised the point that AI researchers were being offered unprecedented contracts -- one reportedly as high as $1 billion over four years from Meta Platforms Inc. META. He asked why similar valuations weren't seen at the CEO level, despite their role in enabling breakthroughs. See Also: Elon Musk, Richest Man Alive, Is Asked How He Feels About Being Labeled 'Evil Billionaire' -- 'It's Not Like I've Got Some Massive Cash Balance' "First of all, I've created more billionaires on my management team than any CEO in the world. They're doing just fine," Huang said. "Don't feel sad for anybody at my layer." Huang also underscored the efficiency of small, well-funded teams in AI. "The impact of 150 or so AI researchers can probably create, with enough funding, an OpenAI. There's something about the elegance of small teams," he said. Later, Calacanis added levity, teasing Huang about rumors of a secret stash of stock options. "Somebody told me you just drop RSUs on people if they do a great job," he joked. "That's nuts," Huang responded, adding, "I review everyone's comp myself ... and I 100% of the time increase opex because you take care of people and everything else takes care of itself." Why It's Important: The discussion came during the Trump administration's unveiling of its AI Action Plan, a strategic initiative backed by a new wave of Silicon Valley. The fierce competition for AI talent has driven record compensation and high-profile hires across companies like Meta, Microsoft Corp. MSFT, OpenAI and Alphabet Inc.'s GOOG GOOGL Google DeepMind -- often eclipsing executive salaries and reshaping the power dynamics in the tech world. Earlier this week, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai also dismissed concerns over an AI talent exodus, stating the company remains strong in attracting and retaining top AI experts. Price Action: Nvidia shares gained 25.62% year-to-date, while in the past 12 months, its share price has increased by 54.74%, according to Benzinga Pro. Benzinga's Edge Stock Rankings show that Nvidia maintains strong upward momentum across short, medium and long-term periods. More detailed performance metrics are available here. Read Next: Ethereum Treasury Company Trend 'Will Accelerate', Says Bitwise's Matt Hougan -- Here's What It Means For ETH's Price Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Photo courtesy: jamesonwu1972 On Shutterstock.com GOOGAlphabet Inc$193.260.03%Stock Score Locked: Want to See it? Benzinga Rankings give you vital metrics on any stock - anytime. Reveal Full ScoreEdge RankingsMomentum55.40Growth87.41Quality87.42Value52.36Price TrendShortMediumLongOverviewGOOGLAlphabet Inc$192.240.04%METAMeta Platforms Inc$716.000.17%MSFTMicrosoft Corp$511.750.17%NVDANVIDIA Corp$173.40-0.20%Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

Silicon Valley compensation war: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says he made more billionaires among staff than any other tech leader - VnExpress International

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says his company's compensation packages have produced more billionaires among his leadership team than any other CEO in the world. "I've created more billionaires on my management team than any CEO in the world," Huang said during a panel hosted by the venture capitalists behind the All-In podcast, according to Fortune. "They're doing just fine." Huang, the world's seventh richest person with estimated net worth of US$152.7 billion as of July 29 according to Forbes, said he personally reviews pay for all of his employees and increases operating expenses each year to ensure staff are well paid. "I sort through all 42,000 employees, and 100% of the time I increase the company's spend on [operating expenses]", he said. "And the reason for that is because you take care of people, everything else takes care of itself." He dismissed rumors that he holds a secret reserve of stock options as "nuts," but confirmed that he regularly raises wages to retain talent. His remarks come amid a wave of aggressive talent poaching across Silicon Valley, particularly in artificial intelligence. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently revealed that Meta had offered some of his employees bonuses of up to $100 million to lure them away. As tech executives reap billion-dollar gains from soaring stock valuations amid the AI boom, Huang said his team is also benefitting. "Don't feel sad for anybody at my layer," he said. "My layer is doing just fine." Nvidia's rapid rise as a dominant player in the AI chip market has created a wave of millionaires among its workforce. The company's employee stock purchase program, which offers shares at a 15% discount, has been a key driver of that wealth. According to Forbes, Nvidia stock has surged 3,776% since early 2019, fueling this financial windfall. However, the rewards come at a cost. A recent Bloomberg report described Nvidia's work environment as a "pressure cooker," marked by long hours, intense meetings, high expectations, and alleged micromanagement. Some employees referred to their pay as "golden handcuffs," saying it makes leaving difficult despite the stress. Even so, Nvidia maintains a turnover rate of just 2.7%, far below the semiconductor industry average of 17.7%.