Nvidia’s CEO, Jensen Huang, recently announced his big pay increase. This will be the first bump in his base salary for 10 years. The firm recently disclosed that Huang’s base salary jumped to $1.5 million, a 49% jump compared to last year. Nvidia isn’t just taking off, they’re scorching the earth. This amendment cements its place as one of the world’s most valuable companies.
The compensation committee at Nvidia deemed the salary increase appropriate, stating it was “in consideration of internal pay equity with the base salaries of other top executives.” The committee’s decision shows that the company is serious about tying executive pay to performance and market forces.
Variable Compensation Increase
While Huang’s base salary is flat, his variable cash compensation went up a whopping $1 million. Now that’s some serious 50% increase inspirational messaging there, for fiscal year 2025. This was reflected in Huang’s total remuneration of a whopping $49.9 million. By contrast, Nvidia’s stock awards have ballooned to $38.8 million. This bang is indicative of the company’s extremely high stock price, which has increased more than ninefold since the end of 2022.
Huang’s household security and private security consultation fees skyrocketed. They grew to $3.5 million by 2025, an increase from $2.2 million in 2024. This makes his 3.5% stake—which he has committed to giving away—worth about $3.2 billion today. This is emblematic of his deep strategic and financial bet on Nvidia emerging as the winner.
Like it or not, Nvidia currently is riding a historic boom. They want their revenue to increase in FY 2025 by 114% to $130.5 billion. That move has made the company an artificial intelligence powerhouse. Today, its graphics processing units (GPUs) run under the hood of most of the most advanced AI models and workloads in use.
“It represented Mr. Huang’s first base salary increase in 10 years.” – Nvidia’s compensation committee
“Believed this was appropriate in consideration of internal pay equity with the base salaries.” – Nvidia’s compensation committee
Author’s Opinion
Nvidia’s rapid growth is undeniable, but the significant rise in executive compensation, especially for Huang, illustrates an interesting dichotomy. While Huang’s increased pay may seem justified given the company’s skyrocketing performance, it raises the question of how much this concentrated wealth among top executives can resonate with the workforce and investors in the long run. While Nvidia is undeniably an AI powerhouse, balancing executive rewards with broader employee compensation could be vital to maintaining morale and sustainable growth.
Featured image credit: Heute
Follow us for more breaking news on DMR