Nvidia Corp. co-founder Jensen Huang’s wealth surged by more than $6 billion to a record high Thursday after the chipmaker forecast sales that crushed expectations, sending its stock soaring.
Huang, the company’s chief executive officer, was worth nearly $34 billion at the market open, a jump of about 23% from the prior day and more than 140% year-to-date. If that increase holds, it would make him the biggest gainer among billionaires globally so far this year, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Nvidia has benefited from the artificial intelligence frenzy, which is boosting demand for processors that can speed up computing. It expects $11 billion in sales in the current quarter, surprising even the most bullish forecasters on Wall Street. Analysts had estimated that figure was going to be roughly $7.2 billion.
Shares in the Santa Clara, California-based company were up 26% at 10:30 a.m. in New York to a record high. The gain put Nvidia within reach of a $1 trillion market value, potentially becoming the ninth firm ever to hit that milestone.
Huang’s fortune is almost entirely derived from Nvidia shares. Known for his black leather jackets and a tattoo that resembles the Nvidia logo, he co-founded the company in 1993 and introduced the first graphics processing unit in 1999.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.