Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s admission that he had an extramarital affair has sparked speculation he and his wife Lori Huang could be headed toward divorce—with Lori potentially walking away with tens of billions if they do, though the exact number remains uncertain.
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Key Facts
- Huang is one of the 10 richest people in the world—though he briefly slipped out of the top 10 Monday as Nvidia’s stock took a dive—with Forbes valuing his net worth at approximately $155.2 billion as of 4 p.m. EST on Monday.
- The Nvidia CEO admitted in a statement to employees Sunday he was “unfaithful to my wife,” after reports suggested he had an affair with Chinese citizen Alice Huang, whom the government believes could be an asset to the Chinese government.
- Huang has been married to his wife since the mid-1980s, after the two first met as students at Oregon State University, long before he founded Nvidia, and the CEO has said Lori has “been part of Nvidia every step of the way.”
- It’s unclear if the two may have signed a prenuptial agreement before they got married, or a postnuptial agreement after they were already married, which could have specified if any of their assets should be separate rather than jointly held.
- California is a community property state, which means that any assets that were acquired during the marriage—which would include Huang’s stake in Nvidia and any income from the company—must be divided 50/50 during a divorce, unless explicitly determined to be one person’s separate property.
- That means Lori Huang could be entitled to half of her husband’s fortune should they divorce—potentially yielding her at least $75 billion, depending on how Nvidia’s stock performs—though the exact share would depend on any specific agreements the two signed and whether Jensen Huang could claim any property was his alone.
What We Don’t Know
If any divorce will take place. Huang apologized to his wife for his affair in a statement Sunday, noting his actions “hurt her and our children” and saying he “take[s] full responsibility for what I did and the hurt I caused.” Huang told his wife and family he “know[s] an apology cannot undo what I have done,” adding he hopes “our family will heal and that, over time, I can earn back your trust.” Lori Huang has not yet responded publicly to her husband’s extramarital affair or given any indication of if she intends for them to remain married.
Surprising Fact
Jensen Huang recently told colleagues his wife “has done everything for him, including signing paperwork and managing their finances,” The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday, joking he “didn’t know his own address or pay any of his bills”—which could suggest many of their assets are likely jointly held.
Big Number
More than 3.5%. That’s how much of a stake Jensen Huang has in Nvidia—making him the company’s largest shareholder—which could now get divided up in any potential divorce.
How Could A Huang Divorce Settlement Compare To Other Billionaire Divorces?
If Lori Huang did receive half of her husband’s 12-figure fortune, it could be even more than other recent billionaire divorce settlements. Jeff Bezos’ ex-wife MacKenzie Scott received a stake in Amazon that was equivalent to approximately $36 billion when the two divorced, for instance. The full details of Melinda French Gates’ 2021 divorce settlement with Bill Gates are still unclear, but she has also received billions from her ex-husband, including him giving at least $12.5 billion just to French Gates’ personal philanthropic endeavors and transferring billions of dollars worth of stock to her in the years after their divorce.
What Constitutes Community Property?
The California government defines community property that’s divisible during a divorce as being what a couple “own[s] or owe[s] together” during their marriage. That can include anything earned during the course of a marriage or anything purchased with money earned during a marriage, including stocks, real estate, income, retirement accounts, business holdings and personal property. It also includes any debts that were taken on during the marriage. An asset could be considered separate property if it was acquired before the couple got married or after they were separated, or if it’s something that was only bequeathed to one person, like an inheritance or gift. A prenuptial or postnuptial agreement could also specify any assets that shouldn’t be considered community property and divided up during a divorce.
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