As billionaires go, Jensen Huang started with nothing. The CEO of Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA | NVDA Price Prediction) launched the company in 1993. Early on, its largest market was computer gaming. Artificial intelligence (AI) was well into the future. Today, Nvidia has between 80% and 90% of the high-end AI chip market. The percentage depends on measuring AI chips in China, a number that outsiders cannot know for sure.
In 2015, Nvidia’s stock traded below $1 for some of the year. Today, it trades at $190. In the past five years, the stock is up 1,344%, compared with 86% for the S&P 500. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), the “hot tech stock” for the five-year period, barely beat in S&P 500.
Nvidia’s success can be considered as much luck as skill. OpenAI did not release ChatGPT until November 2022. AI did not become a mainstream part of the technology world until the next year. It was only then that it became clear the role chips would play as AI’s need for hardware and data centers grew. Data center construction investments this year could be nearly $1 trillion worldwide.
Huang is, improbably, the ninth richest person in the world. According to the Bloomberg Billionaire list, he has a net worth of $155 billion, which is just ahead of Warren Buffett’s. Among the richest people in the world, he has had one of the most impressive increases in net worth this year, up by $1 billion.
The World’s Most Valuable Company
Nvidia is the most valuable company in the world, with a market cap of $4.57 trillion. The stock is at an inflection point. Its phenomenal rise has slowed considerably in the past year. It is up 31%, while the S&P 500 is 14% higher. General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) stock is up 48% over the same period.
Nvidia faces several things that skeptics say will slow its growth. One is competition. That might come from U.S.-based AMD, or from Chinese chips that are almost certainly not as powerful as Nvidia’s top chips today. However, the Chinese government is pouring money into an effort to close that gap.
While it is improbable, the huge growth in the AI industry could slow. The rate at which it is growing has caused observers to say the industry has reached the point where there will be clear winners and losers. This could slow data center buildouts, which would mean slowing AI chip demand.
Nvidia’s earnings telegraphed a period in which its sales increases will not slow. In the most recent quarter, it had revenue of $57 billion, or up 62% year over year. Earnings rose 67% to $1.14 per share. Nvidia said revenue in the current quarter would be $65 billion, plus or minus 2%.
If anything, expect Huang’s net worth to go higher.
Nvidia Stock Price Prediction and Forecast 2026–2030
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