It’s not often staffers at the likes of Meta and Google are looking enviously at the lifestyle of others, but the going is so good at Nvidia that it’s making Big Tech peers a little green.
Employees of the tech world have been discussing the compensation packages at the Jensen Huang–led firm versus the likes of Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta and Sundar Pichai–led Google.
On Blind—an anonymous forum for professionals in the software and tech space—a user who says they formerly worked at Google asked Nvidia employees: “How rich are you?”
One apparent Nvidia employee, who stated their net worth was around $3 million, responded that the wealth of employees “really depends on your level.”
The individual added they still have $3 million in assets left to vest and were “very comfortable.”
“Bought a $100K family car in all cash and didn’t have to think about it,” the post continued. “Thanks JHH [Jen-Hsun Huang].”
The individual—who said the car they purchased was a “decked out” BMW X7—added they had been promoted within the past year to an Ic6, a principal engineer.
Another user whose profile states they work for Snap wrote: “Wife and I are worth $14.8M at 32, none of us work at NVDA, but we live in the Bay Area and have some old-timer friends there.
“Every single one of them is worth over $25M. It’s nuts.”
Another user whose profile shows they work for Meta chimed in: “The more I hear about Nvidia employees and their riches, the more jealous I feel. Anybody with me?”
Meta and Google did not immediately respond to Fortune’s approach for comment.
Why are Nvidia staff so wealthy?
The ballooning wealth of Nvidia employees is thanks to the rocketing share price of the company, and the organization’s now famously attractive stock incentives.
Through Nvidia’s employee stock purchase plan, staff can contribute up to 15% of their salary to buy company shares at a 15% discount.
This has led to notable examples, such as one mid-level employee who bought in for 18 years reportedly retiring with shares worth $62 million, according to Barron’s senior technology writer Tae Kim.
Nvidia’s shares have ballooned over the past few years in particular, leading to a corresponding spike in the net worth of shareholders like employees and CEO Huang.
In October 2022, Nvidia was trading at around $14 a share; today, it has risen to almost $130 a share.
Huang’s net worth, which is largely tied up in the chipmaking giant, has also experienced a boost: In October 2022 Huang was worth a little over $11 billion, at the time of writing, his fortune is valued at $112 billion, per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, making him the 12th richest person on the planet.
His 3.8% stake in the company is so significant that he can afford to off-load hundreds of thousands of shares on a near-daily basis, worth an average of $14M a sale, without its having a massive impact on either the market or his stake.
Nvidia did not immediately respond to Fortune’s approach for comment.
Nvidia’s culture
With millionaire status on the line for Nvidia employees, it’s perhaps no surprise that a lot is expected of them at work.
In an interview with 60 Minutes released this spring, Huang was told some of the words his team used to describe him, including “demanding,” “perfectionist,” and “not easy to work for.”
Huang said those descriptors fit him “perfectly,” explaining: “It should be like that. If you want to do extraordinary things, it shouldn’t be easy.”
Staffers at the Santa Clara, Calif.–based business seemed happy with their work-life balance.
Writing on Blind, another user whose profile says they work for Nvidia added the experience of working at the company “depends on the team.”
They explained: “I work 10 a.m. [to] 5 p.m. on weekdays and per week one or two nighttime meetings due to overseas collaborations.
“And people can WFH all days in a week, some of my teammates do.”
