Jensen Huang's charitable foundation balloons on Nvidia stock gains

Nvidia’s soaring stock price has supercharged CEO Jensen Huang’s fortunes — as well as his charitable giving

Nvidia’s soaring stock price has supercharged CEO Jensen Huang’s fortunes — as well as his charitable giving.

Over the past five years, the charitable foundation launched by Huang and his wife, Lori, has grown from $828 million in assets to more than $9.1 billion, according to data firm FoundationMark, which tracks the investment performance of private foundations. At its current levels, the Jen-Hsun and Lori Huang Foundation is now one of the 15 largest private foundations in the U.S., rivaling well established philanthropies like the Rockefeller Foundation and the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, according to FoundationMark.

“It’s interesting to see the sort of changing of the guard,” said John Seitz, CEO of FoundationMark. “Big philanthropy now is tech-driven, like many other things, far more than it used to be.”

The growth is all due to Nvidia shares that Huang donated to the foundation. The Huangs started the foundation in 2007 with 370,000 Nvidia shares worth $12.6 million at the time. Those shares have surged by more than 16,800% and are now worth $2.2 billion, adjusted for stock splits and receiving dividends, according to CNBC calculations. At the end of 2023, the foundation reported owning 68.5 million shares of Nvidia.

The growth in assets will also mean a growth in giving. Private foundations are legally required to distribute at least 5% of their assets per year, using the average monthly value from the year prior. FoundationMark estimates the Huangs’ foundation had to distribute $123 million in 2024 and will have to give $369 million this year. While its assets and giving have made it a major player in philanthropy, the foundation’s infrastructure is still in its infancy.