Nvidia shareholder lawsuit accuses Jensen Huang of misleading investors as his net worth drops $6.5 billion

A Nvidia shareholder lawsuit filed on Monday, 9 November 2026, alleges that the chipmaker and its co-founder and chief executive Jensen Huang misled investors about his relationship with a woman who, according to the New York Times, US intelligence determined was gathering information for Beijing, the Associated Press reported. The claims are allegations and have not been tested in court. Nvidia shares fell 4.3% on Monday, and Huang’s net worth dropped $6.5 billion, Fortune reported. 1

What happened

Retail investor Mark Kistenmacher filed the proposed class action in a California court, seeking unspecified damages and a jury trial, AP reported. The suit covers anyone who bought Nvidia shares from 9 October to 8 November. It alleges that Nvidia and Huang failed to disclose the relationship and made false statements about Nvidia’s dealings with the woman’s former employer, Singapore-based Megaspeed International, which the complaint says posed a “material risk” to the company, according to AP. Investors say they would not have bought shares “at the artificially inflated prices that they did, or at all,” AP quoted the complaint as saying.

Fortune reported that the law firm Rosen Law filed a federal class action on Monday making similar allegations. 2

The New York Times reported that Megaspeed bought more than $4.8 billion of Nvidia chips over the past two years, according to AP. AP did not report any charges against the former Megaspeed executive. Huang has acknowledged the relationship and apologised for it, AP reported.

President Donald Trump said on Monday that the FBI is investigating, and that Huang told him he had no idea the person could be involved in espionage, AP reported. Nvidia did not immediately respond to AP’s request for comment on the lawsuit.

Key numbers

• Share move: Nvidia closed 4.3% lower at $178.67 on Monday after falling as much as 9% (Fortune).
• Market value: Monday’s $7.97 drop wiped out about $190 billion (AP).
• Jensen Huang net worth: down $6.5 billion to $148 billion, 12th on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index (Fortune).
• His stake: about 870 million shares, roughly 3.5% of Nvidia, per a September 2026 filing (Fortune).
• Chip purchases: Megaspeed bought more than $4.8 billion of Nvidia chips over two years, per the New York Times (AP).

Jensen Huang net worth and his grip on Nvidia

Huang co-founded Nvidia and has led it into the centre of the artificial intelligence boom. His shares, held in his own name and through family trusts, make up most of his fortune, Fortune reported. The latest slide pushed him out of the top 10, behind Walmart heirs Jim Walton and Rob Walton, Fortune said. He had briefly dropped out of the top 10 the week before after a tech sell-off. For where he stood before the scandal, see our list of the richest people in the world right now and October’s $300 billion loss for the world’s 10 richest.

What people said

Nvidia’s board opened an independent investigation on Sunday into reports that Huang was “the target of a foreign intelligence effort,” Fortune reported. The board said it had no reason to believe national security or company secrets were compromised, and added: “Jensen fully supports the review and has committed to cooperating with it.”

Dan Ives of Yorkville Ives called the episode a “black eye moment” for Huang that will create “an overhang” on the stock, Fortune reported.

What happens next

Three tracks are now running at once: the board’s independent review, the FBI inquiry that Trump described, and the Nvidia shareholder lawsuit in California, where the plaintiffs are asking for a jury trial, according to AP and Fortune. Nvidia shares fell again on Tuesday before the opening bell, AP reported, so the next moves in any of the three could shift Huang’s fortune again.