Jensen Huang Climbs Into Global Top 10 Rich List, Nears Buffett's Wealth by $1 Billion

TradingKey - NVIDIA saw its shares edge up by 0.8% to close at $164.10 on Thursday, elevating its market capitalization beyond the $4 trillion mark. This achievement places NVIDIA ahead of rivals such as Apple and Microsoft. Earlier in the week, the company briefly exceeded this valuation before experiencing a slight dip.

As NVIDIA's founder and CEO, Jensen Huang owns about 3.5% of the company, a stake that has significantly increased his fortune. He is now on the verge of overtaking Warren Buffett. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, as of Thursday's market close, Huang's net worth climbed to $143 billion, securing him the 10th spot, with an addition of over $28.7 billion this year. In comparison, iconic Wall Street investor and Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett holds a net worth of $144 billion, ranking 9th, just $1 billion ahead of Huang.

[source: Bloomberg Billionaires Index]

With the market's strong confidence in NVIDIA, it seems only a matter of time before Huang surpasses Buffett. On Thursday, Goldman Sachs initiated coverage of NVIDIA with a "buy" rating, setting a price target of $185 per share. Analyst James Schneider emphasized NVIDIA's leading position in accelerated computing and its growing customer base, which he believes will spur continuous demand for the next generation of GPU products. He argues that unlike its competitors, NVIDIA has already monetized its offerings successfully. Despite the recent surge in stock prices, Schneider views the valuation as appealing and expects robust performance in the coming 12 months.

Moreover, Citi has raised NVIDIA's target price to $190 per share, driven by a notable rise in sovereign demand for AI infrastructure. Loop Capital analyst Ananda Baruah pegged NVIDIA's target price at $250 in a report on Wednesday, suggesting that this valuation could propel the company's market cap to nearly $6 trillion.