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Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's price of secret affair

By · Published by Everything Blog

In short

The chipmaker's stock dropped 5.5% after Jensen Huang acknowledged an affair with Alice Huang, a Chinese national suspected of intelligence collection for Beijing. Nvidia's market capitalization plunged to $4.24 trillion, while Huang's personal wealth declined by $7.5 billion. Independent directors and outside counsel have launched a formal review, even as the company maintains no corporate secrets or national security assets were breached. Alice Huang's previous executive role at Singapore-based partner firm Megaspeed has drawn additional attention due to existing export control sensitivities.

Key points

  • Independent directors and outside counsel are leading an internal investigation into the…: Independent directors and outside counsel are leading an internal investigation into the relationship despite the firm reporting no compromised secrets.
  • Former President Donald Trump indicated that the FBI is examining the matter alongside co…: Former President Donald Trump indicated that the FBI is examining the matter alongside corporate governance reviews.
  • Alice Huang's connections include an executive position at Megaspeed, an Nvidia partner a…: Alice Huang's connections include an executive position at Megaspeed, an Nvidia partner already facing oversight regarding Chinese access to advanced chips.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

Huang's fortune fell to $154.7 billion within the first 30 minutes of trading and remained at that level into the afternoon, according to Forbes.

Also read: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's affair with Chinese agent being looked into by FBI, says Trump

He slipped from eighth place, falling below Berkshire Hathaway chairman Warren Buffett and Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison in the list of the world's richest people.

The decline made Huang the only person among the world's 10 richest billionaires to record a fall in wealth on Monday afternoon, Forbes reported. His fortune had stood at $162.2 billion before the trading session began.

Nvidia shares were down 5.5% at 1:30 pm EST on Monday, after falling as much as 7% in premarket trading. The sell-off came as investors reacted to the company's confirmation that it was investigating the matter involving its chief executive. Huang briefly dropped out of the world's 10 richest people after the stock opened more than 7% lower, wiping $10.3 billion off his fortune.

The market reaction also eroded Nvidia's valuation. Its market capitalisation fell from $4.5 trillion…

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