In a nutshell: Most of us wouldn't be happy about not receiving a pay raise for a decade, but that's what Nvidia boss Jensen Huang has experienced over the last ten years at Nvidia. The caveat, of course, is that he's become one of the richest people in the planet thanks to the company's skyrocketing stock price. Adding to his fortune is his first base salary increase since 2015 – a hefty 49% jump to $1.5 million.
Nvidia's stock price was around $0.50 at the start of 2015. Thanks to Team Green providing most of the hardware powering the generative AI revolution, its stock is currently $111.61, an increase of 22,222%.
Huang's base salary has remained at around $1 million per year for most of that time. Like most CEOs, Huang's wealth comes from his stake in the company he runs; in this case, it's 3.5%, which is currently worth around $94 billion.
According to a proxy filing with the SEC yesterday, Nvidia's compensation committee raised Huang's total target pay by $7 million to align more closely with the median of peer company CEOs. This includes a 50% hike in base salary to $1.5 million.
Huang also saw his variable cash increase by 50% to $1 million, while stock awards jumped to $38.8 million.
Huang's compensation also included $3.5 million in residential, security, and consultation fees, driver services, security monitoring, and car expenses. The amount increased $1.3 million compared to the previous year. Nvidia says the money is necessary due to Huang's high-profile nature.
In total, Huang's total compensation for Fiscal 2025 was $49,866,251. For comparison, the median employee's total compensation for the same period was $301,233.
The committee wrote that the increase in base salary was Huang's first in ten years, adding that the amount was "appropriate in consideration of internal pay equity with the base salaries of other NEOs."
According to Bloomberg's Billionaires Index, Huang is currently the 17th wealthiest person in the world with a fortune of $97.9 billion. Like most other tech bosses on the list, the amount has fallen this year – down $16.4 billion in Huang's case. That's better than Elon Musk, whose net worth has dropped by $101 billion in 2025, though he still tops the list with a valuation of $332 billion.