Nvidia’s Billionaire Board: The 2024 Landmark

2024 proved to be a landmark year for Nvidia, with its soaring stock performance driving extraordinary wealth creation not only for CEO Jensen Huang but also for three of its longest-serving board members. This unique achievement saw the directors ascend into billionaire status, a rarity among corporate boards.

Tench Coxe, who has been part of Nvidia’s board since its early days, now holds a fortune valued at $5.4 billion, becoming the company’s third-largest individual shareholder with over 32 million shares. Joining him in the billionaire ranks are Mark Stevens, the world’s 298th-richest individual with a net worth of $9.3 billion, and Harvey Jones, who holds a $1 billion stake in Nvidia and has already sold over $300 million worth of shares.

Nvidia’s stock surged by an astonishing 171% in 2024, driven by relentless demand for its chips powering artificial intelligence applications. This remarkable performance ranked Nvidia as the second-best performer on the S&P 500 Index for the year.

Virginia Tech finance professor Felipe Cabezon explained that the wealth amassed by these directors is a result of Nvidia’s extraordinary growth rather than unusually high compensation packages. Directors typically receive equity awards to align their interests with the company’s success, and Nvidia’s board exemplifies this principle. Coxe, Stevens, and Jones have served on the board for more than three decades, reaping the rewards of Nvidia’s meteoric rise.

Professor Cabezon described this scenario as a “happy ending” for the directors, highlighting how their long-term commitment created significant shareholder value—including for themselves.

In total, Nvidia’s three billionaire directors, combined with Jensen Huang, boast a collective net worth exceeding $130 billion, positioning the chipmaker’s board among the ten wealthiest in the world. Huang alone experienced a meteoric rise in his fortune, now valued at $114.4 billion, up by more than $70 billion in 2024, placing him as the 12th-richest person globally.

A potential addition to Nvidia’s billionaire club is Brooke Seawell, who has served on the board since 1997. Seawell currently holds a stake worth nearly $700 million, suggesting he may soon join his peers in the billionaire ranks.

Unlike Nvidia, most affluent boards owe their wealth to a mix of founder fortunes and directors whose wealth comes from external ventures. Tesla’s board, for instance, stands as the wealthiest globally with a combined net worth of at least $442 billion. Alongside Elon Musk, the world’s richest individual, Tesla’s board includes other ultra-wealthy members like Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia and James Murdoch, son of media magnate Rupert Murdoch.

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