Benzinga - by Chris Katje, Benzinga Staff Writer.
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) shares have soared over the last year, with the stock hitting a market capitalization of over $3 trillion for the first time on Wednesday.
The stock price increase led Nvidia to briefly pass Apple as the second most valuable company in the world and added to the year-to-date gains for Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's wealth.
What Happened: Strong first-quarter earnings and guidance have helped push shares of Nvidia higher in recent weeks, which comes as the stock has enjoyed a 200%+ gain over the last year on optimism for artificial intelligence related products.
Huang co-founded Nvidia and has served as CEO since its founding in 1993. As a minority shareholder of Nvidia, Huang has watched his wealth soar along with other Nvidia investors.
The latest Bloomberg Billionaires Index lists Huang as the 13th richest person in the world. Huang's wealth stands at $107 billion. The Nvidia CEO has added $63.4 billion to his wealth in 2024, the highest gain of anyone on the list.
In recent weeks, Huang has passed key members of the Walton family, who are Walmart heirs, telecommunications magnate Carlos Slim, L'Oreal heir Francoise Bettencourt Meyers and Indian billionaire Gautam Adani.
If Nvidia shares continue to rise, Huang could find himself nearing the top 10 list. Currently standing in Huang's way are Michael Dell at 12th ($109 billion), Mukesh Ambani at 11th ($109 billion) and legendary investor Warren Buffett at 10th ($135 billion).
Buffett has been a staple on the world's richest list and has added $15.6 billion to his wealth in 2024.
Related Link: When Will Nvidia Be The Most Valuable Company In The World?
Why It's Important: The rise of Nvidia shares has been one for the history books, with the stock joining the $1 trillion market capitalization club for the first time in 2023 and going on to hit $3 trillion around one year later.
Huang has been recognized as one of the top CEOs leading the revolutionary growth of the AI sector and positioning Nvidia as a company producing the products needed by companies in the sector.
The wealth of Huang soared in 2023 as well, and he quickly joined the top 25 richest people list and now finds himself nearing the top 10 list.
With bullish predictions from analysts and increased price targets for Nvidia stock, it could be a matter of when and not if Huang finds himself as one of the 10 richest people in the world.
While Nvidia’s soaring stock price has been a prominent stock market narrative, the potential of Huang surpassing Buffett in wealth could symbolize the rise of new technology over traditional value investing.
Read Next: EXCLUSIVE: Nvidia Dow Jones Inclusion ‘A Matter Of When’ — Will It Replace Intel?
Photo:Nvidia/Shutterstock
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