Nvidia CEO overtakes Mukesh Ambani to claim top spot on richest person list

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, with a net worth of $119 billion, has climbed to the top of Forbes' real-time billionaire list, overtaking India's Mukesh Ambani.

Over the past five years, Huang, 61, has experienced a remarkable 2280% rise, portraying the explosive growth of Nvidia which now stands as the world's most valuable public company, India's Financial Express reported.

Huang co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and has served as the tech company's CEO and president since inception. 

Under Huang's leadership, Nvidia's market capitalisation has escalated by 177% to an impressive $3.33 trillion, largely attributed to the tech company's dominance in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector. 

The company’s shares experienced a notable increase of over 3% on June 18, which propelled Huang’s net worth by over $4 billion.

In early 2024, Forbes estimated Huang's net worth at $77 billion but the recent surge in Nvidia’s market cap enabled the tech billionaire to jump up the rankings.

He now sits just behind Steve Ballmer, the former CEO of Microsoft. 

Huang plans to sell a portion of his Nvidia shares, with a recent securities filing revealing his intention to divest 600,000 shares before March 2025.

This move represents a small fraction of his 3% stake in the company.

Huang's remarkable progress, with a jump from the 546th position to the 76th position last year, underscores the profound impact of the AI revolution on his wealth.