Jensen Huang, the CEO and co-founder of Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), has seen his fortune rise to approximately $106 billion in just five years. Once worth $3.8 billion, Huang is now the 13th richest person in the world, thanks to rising demand for Nvidia’s graphics processing units (GPUs), essential for artificial intelligence (AI) products. But as his wealth has skyrocketed, so has scrutiny on how he gives back to society.
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The rise of Nvidia
Nvidia currently has a market capitalization of almost $3 trillion and is the third most valuable company in the world, behind only Apple ($3.4 trillion) and Microsoft ($3.1 trillion). The main reason for such a high valuation is that the company now controls between 70% and 95% of the global market for AI processors used in generative models such as ChatGPT. Furthermore, Nvidia’s shares have risen more than 170% in the past year, increasing Huang’s wealth and cementing his status in the technology industry.
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It’s amazing to see Huang’s route to success. As a youngster, he worked cleaning restrooms and as a dishwasher at Denny’s. He fondly recalls, “I mean, I’ve cleaned a lot of toilets. I’ve cleaned more toilets than all of you put together – and some of them you just can’t undo.”
His work ethic and approach to leadership are indistinguishable in any way. He emphasizes, “For me, no task is too low for me because I used to be a dishwasher [and] I cleaned toilets.”
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Charitable focus
Due to his enormous wealth, Huang has significantly increased the amount of money he donates to charities. By 2022, the foundation’s assets had grown to about $1 billion from $13.2 million in 2007, according to the Observer.
His altruistic efforts often benefit local causes in California, Nvidia’s home state, as well as higher education and AI diversity. Notably, his charity, the Jen-Hsun & Lori Huang charity, has contributed significantly to colleges including Oregon State University and Stanford.
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However, much of Huang’s philanthropy is focused on donor-advised funds (DAFs) rather than traditional nonprofits. In 2022, the foundation donated $66.3 million, a significant portion of which went to a fund at Schwab Charitable, a sponsor of DAF.
Reports recently revealed that the Huang Foundation controls 69 million shares of Nvidia, currently valued at over $8 billion. This makes it the twentieth largest foundation in the US and its assets have increased eightfold since the end of 2022.
In addition, Huang and his wife manage the GeForce Fund, also a donor-advised fund that owns an undisclosed number of Nvidia shares, with DAFgiving360 estimating that $4.4 billion in Nvidia shares has been accumulated in funds managed by the couple and their foundation.
While DAFs provide tax benefits and allow donors to maintain control over their donations, they have come under fire for their lack of transparency and accountability.
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The criticism of DAFs
The main source of Huang’s charity criticism is his dependence on DAFs. Unlike traditional charities, which must give away at least 5% of their assets annually, DAFs can hold funds for years without distributing them. As a result, some have questioned whether Huang’s philanthropic methods are truly selfless or merely designed to gain tax benefits.
While DAFs provide a lot of control over charitable contributions, experts have pointed out that they can also cause money to go unused for long periods of time, which can limit the direct impact that gifts can have on pressing social issues.
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In this article, Nvidia Jensen Huang’s wealth exploded to $108 billion in five years. Here’s Why His Philanthropy Is Criticized originally appeared on Benzinga.com
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