Jensen Huang is having a rough week. On Chinese social media, users are now trying to tally up who has lost the most from the fallout of his affair.
Nvidia stock swung sharply on Monday, plunging as much as 9% before recovering to finish the day about 4% lower at $178.67. Business Insider calculated that the slide briefly knocked about $13 billion off the value of Huang’s Nvidia holdings, leaving them worth around $138 billion on Monday morning.
Several hashtags about Huang trended on Weibo, China’s version of X, as users debated both the personal and financial costs of the fallout.
The cost of a divorce
Some Weibo users tried to calculate what a split could mean for Huang’s multibillion-dollar fortune under the hashtag “How much could Jensen Huang’s wife get in a divorce?”
“With this move, Jensen Huang has truly maxed out the ‘sky-high divorce settlement,'” one user from Shandong wrote.
The user said Lori Huang could theoretically receive half of her husband’s fortune, citing California’s community property laws, which generally divide assets and debts accrued during a marriage equally. However, the user also said that reality would likely be much more complicated, given how much of his wealth is tied up in Nvidia shares and other complex assets.
Another user from Zhejiang pointed to a personal loss that no settlement could fully account for.
“Money can be divided. The share price can rebound. The board still supports him. But when someone gives you the most awkward, poorest, and most hopeful years of their youth, and you trade that for a polished apology letter, that is a debt the law cannot calculate,” the user wrote.
The cost to investors
Other Weibo users turned to the investors and Silicon Valley power players caught up in Nvidia’s slide, using hashtags such as “Which Silicon Valley tycoons did Jensen Huang’s ‘love brain’ hurt?” and “Jensen Huang sets a record for the biggest losses caused by an executive’s personal scandal.”
One user from Guangxi said that even the most advanced technology cannot insulate the AI industry from the personal risks posed by those running it.
“When personal matters become entangled with clients, chip compliance, and security investigations, they cease to be merely a family dispute,” the user wrote.
Another user from Jiangxi said Huang’s personal life was a reminder of how sensitive capital markets can be to the ethical risks posed by corporate leaders.
“The scale of the losses is also a warning to the industry: Founders and executives of leading technology companies no longer represent only themselves. Their words and actions can affect hundreds of billions of dollars in market value,” the user wrote. “A private controversy can ultimately leave the whole company and countless investors to bear the cost.”
A user from Sichuan said some investors bought into not just Nvidia’s business, but also Huang’s carefully cultivated reputation.
“Business leaders’ ‘devoted-husband image’ can feel like a kind of trust guarantee. This time, after Huang said he was unfaithful, Nvidia’s stock plunged. The ones ultimately paying for his lovestruck behavior are still retail investors,” the user wrote.
The cost of success
Across a range of hashtags — including “How high is the cost of Jensen Huang’s infidelity?” — Weibo users said his personal troubles were a reminder that money and power can bring their own temptations.
One user from Jiangsu said that the hardest part of success may be holding onto the values that got you there.
“Success is difficult, but holding the line is harder. A moment of indulgence can destroy the reputation and stability built over decades,” the user wrote.
Another user from Zhejiang said that for someone at Huang’s level, the consequences of a private misstep can be far greater than most people imagine.
“The truly costly price is never just money. It is the trust and hard-won reputation that have been spent down,” the user wrote.
The Weibo reactions followed a turbulent few days for Huang and Nvidia.
The Nvidia CEO said in a memo to staffers on Sunday that he had been unfaithful to Lori Huang, his wife of over 40 years and the mother of his two kids. His statement came as the chipmaker’s board launched an independent investigation into whether Huang was the “target of a foreign intelligence effort.”
Huang did not name the person involved in his memo, but the attention has been centered on Alice Huang, a former executive at Megaspeed, an Nvidia customer. The New York Times reported that US intelligence officials believe she was passing information to Beijing.
