Jensen

There are lessons in the fall of Jensen.

Don’t let being a rockstar turn you into a rockstar. Never forget where you came from (or the spouse who got you there.)

Remember you’re not invincible, or eternal. Nvidia now has a serious succession problem.

Beware of honeypots.

Don’t diddle with one of your veeps. Don’t lie to colleagues. Or the media. They’ll always find out.

Never confuse being important with being worthy. It’s a human failing. This informs much about why Jensen Huang and Donald Trump became such fast and hard buds in the short time they’ve known each other. As it turns out, they’re both powerful and amoral. In the space of a few days, both have been diminished as few thought possible.

Nvidia and Huang are the biggest story in the world today. No wonder.

The company has 90% of the AI chip market and was recently the most valuable outfit on the planet by market capitalization. AI and related tech issues account for half the US stock market. The artificial intelligence boom and build-out is also credited with 50% of America’s recent spurt in GDP growth.

Nvidia alone was on Friday worth 7% of the entire S&P 500.

Of course that was then. Since being valued at %5.7 trillion last month, Nvidia has shed 30% of its market value. Last night shares fell about 9%, wiping $400 billion off the books. Analysts say the price could settle even lower, meaning Nvidia loses half its value.

Or more. There are too many unknowns to speculate intelligently. Will the woman appointed as interim CEO flame out? Can Nvidia’s board find anyone to replace Jensen, an innovator, visionary and can’t-keep-it-in-his-pants serial entrepreneur? How much insider info and how many corporate secrets did Alice the Spy steal and send to Beijing? Why did Trump not blow the whistle on Jensen a year ago when he was told about the brewing Chinese lover tryst? What is the level of national security threat posed by Jensen’s actions?

What will the impact be on financial markets? The course of today will be telling, of course. But with hyperscalers set to spend (and borrow) about $1 trillion on new data centers – all powered by Nvidia technology – uncertainty is unwelcome. Meanwhile Jensen was behind $230 billion in backing for other AI startups, suppliers, AI cloud guys and various ventures in the sector. Does that stay or slow?

And what about the White House policy of eschewing guardrails on AI development? Or letting China buy advanced chips? Both of those were the personal decision of Trump, who was lobbied into them by Jensen Huang. They hung together. Travelled together. Spoke continually. If there is one man responsible for the AI policies now shaping the entire global economy, it’s Jensen Huang, the guy from a Taiwanese family who started Nvidia in a Denny’s restaurant 33 years ago.

By the way, his wife helped hm. Bigtime. She was also a computer engineer and main family breadwinner during the formative years. She cultivated his image as the business grew. Got him into the signature leather MC jackets. And mothered the two children who are now senior Nvidia executives. Yes, she will end up with billions. And betrayal.

Well, Nvidia stock (as I write this) opened down 13%. But that will quickly change. The company dominates the hottest sector in the world, which won’t change overnight. A big dip in valuation will attract a ton of buying just as volatility spurs selling by investors who want stability, not drama.

There’s more risk for stockholders now. Nvidia’s market share could erode and competitors take advantage of the tectonic news. AI data centre buildouts could be impacted, especially with opposition from newly-elected Democratic governors, state legislators and Congressional members. That could dampen the return that giants like Amazon and Meta, Microsoft and Apple earn on their massive AI infrastructure bets. It could impact the China-US relationship. And it could hasten the inevitable move towards more AI regulations. Before the rogue agents kill us all.

Mostly, it reinforces a lesson this pathetic blog has yakked about for a dog’s age.

Don’t buy stocks.

Shun individual equities since there’s always the possibility of catastrophic loss, and unwanted volatility. Much better to diversify away a lot of that risk by holding an index fund instead. And by having safer, income-producing assets – balance in a portfolio – there’s enhanced stability. Boring is good. But being boring does not mean turning tail on growth.

Jensen flew too close to the sun.

A man turned god. Who ended up being just a man.

About the picture: “Thank you for your scribbles. Always of interest,” writes Derek. “Here is a snap I took in the town of Opio, France. I drove into the town and noticed the dog at an upper window, looking over the street and people and traffic passed. I parked my car and grabbed my camera. The dog was no longer there so I waited. I just had this feeling that the dog would come back and it did.”

To be in touch or send a picture of your beast, email to ‘garth@garth.ca’.

Source: https://www.greaterfool.ca/2026/11/12/jensen/