Jensen Huang quits Nvidia days after Trump called him honorable

Nvidia's founder is out, with no reason given

Jensen Huang, who founded Nvidia in 1993, quit as its chief executive effective Wednesday, with no reason given, days after President Trump called him "an honorable guy." On June 30, by our count, Nvidia was the biggest stock Florida's state pension reported owning, about $4 billion. Trump spoke amid reports of Huang's affair with a woman who, CBS News reports, U.S. intelligence agencies believe was a Chinese asset, meaning someone who helps China's spy agencies. SiliconAngle, a tech news site, names her as Alice Huang, no relation, who runs Megaspeed, a Singapore company.

Why it matters: The State Board of Administration invests Florida's state pension fund. By law its board is the governor, the state's chief financial officer and the attorney general. Each quarter the agency lists many of its holdings, mainly U.S.-listed stocks, in a report to the SEC, which polices the stock market. Its report for Sept. 30 is due Monday and should show the Nvidia stake it reports for that day.

The story so far: On Sunday, Nov. 8, Trump defended Huang and said he had not spoken to him about the reports, Reuters reported. Nvidia said that day it was looking into whether Huang had been the target of "a foreign intelligence effort." Its board accepted his resignation on Wednesday, Nov. 11, and Nvidia announced it Thursday.

The board named an interim chief

Nvidia, based in Santa Clara, Calif., said Thursday that Huang "has resigned as President, Chief Executive Officer, and a member of the Board, effective immediately." Its federal filing says the board accepted the resignation on Nov. 11. The filing states no reason and no severance or exit terms. Bloomberg reported that Nvidia's board ousted Huang, and CNBC, citing a person familiar with the matter, reported that the board decided Wednesday night to oust him.

Colette Kress, 59, Nvidia's finance chief since September 2013, "has agreed to serve as Interim Chief Executive Officer" and stays finance chief. The board named Harvey C. Jones, 73, a director since 1993, as its "first-ever Chair of the Board." Jones runs Square Wave Ventures, a private family office, the filing says, and once served as chief executive and executive chairman of Synopsys, the release says. The board is searching for a permanent chief and "will consider internal and external candidates."

Nvidia's 2026 proxy says Huang "founded NVIDIA in 1993" and had served since its start as president, chief executive and a director. CBS News calls him a co-founder. The proxy also says Nvidia has no employment, severance or change-in-control agreements with its executive officers. As of March 23, Huang beneficially owned about 871 million Nvidia shares, 3.58% of the stock, the proxy says.

What Florida's pension reported owning

The State Board of Administration files a federal holdings report, Form 13F, each quarter. Its report for June 30, filed Aug. 10, lists 19,899,706 Nvidia shares valued at $3,981,732,174. It was still the pension's latest such report as of 5:42 p.m. Eastern Thursday. By our sum of that report's 2,136 rows, the total is about $60.3 billion, and Nvidia is the largest single holding, about 6.6% of what the report lists.

Apple is next at about $3.57 billion, then Alphabet at about $3.21 billion, by our sum. The report covers mainly U.S.-listed stocks, not the whole pension fund. No outlet outside the agency has reported the ranking; it is our count.

On March 31 the report listed 20,592,909 Nvidia shares worth about $3.59 billion, also the largest holding, by our sum. So the fund reported 693,203 fewer Nvidia shares on June 30 than on March 31, by our arithmetic. The filings do not say why.

Florida law says the board is made up of "the Governor as chair, the Chief Financial Officer, and the Attorney General," and that it "shall invest all the funds in the System Trust Fund." We found no record of any action by the board on Nvidia this week. No Florida loss can be figured from the record yet: the June count is months old, and the fund's holdings since then are not public until its next report.

The affair, the inquiry and Trump's defense

CBS News reports that Huang had an extramarital affair with a woman U.S. intelligence agencies believe was a Chinese asset. The Justice Department has not said so. Attorney General Todd Blanche told reporters Thursday that "there's no conclusions reached" about "who she is or is not," The New Republic reported. He said the department's investigators are looking at it, and Reuters reported that he said the FBI is investigating. SiliconAngle names her as Alice Huang, no relation, and reports that she runs Megaspeed, a company based in Singapore, and that Huang admitted the affair. Nvidia said it had opened an investigation into Huang's actions, SiliconAngle reported.

Trump said of Huang on Sunday, "I think he's an honorable guy," and that he had "done an amazing job for our country," Reuters reported. At a White House briefing on Monday, Trump said: "I know the FBI is looking into it in terms of something else, and I think that he'll be in good shape," SiliconAngle reported.

On Thursday, after the resignation was announced, Trump wrote on Truth Social that Huang "has done a fantastic job" and that "there is only one man to take his place." He named former Apple chief executive Tim Cook, Yahoo Finance reported, and wrote: "A Legend replaces a Legend!" Yahoo Finance logged the post at about 10:43 a.m. Eastern.

Huang's personal life drew more reports this week. The New York Times reported Wednesday that he had another extramarital relationship, with an Nvidia executive who reports to him, CNBC reported. Reuters reported Thursday that he had an "intimate relationship" with an Nvidia employee it did not name, CNBC said. ABC News said it could not verify the Times report.

The bigger fight: The New York Times reported, as SiliconAngle relayed it, that a Commerce Department inquiry into Megaspeed, suspected of smuggling banned chips into China, was abruptly canceled after an email from Nvidia general counsel Tim Teter. The Times also reported that the matter later moved to the Justice Department and that Trump was briefed on the suspected Chinese intelligence operation as far back as October 2025.

How the stock took it

Nvidia shares were down $7.54, or 4.3%, at $166.19 on Thursday, after dropping as much as 14.3% earlier in the day, CBS News reported in an update at 5:03 p.m. Eastern. CNBC put Thursday's drop at 4.34%. It said Nvidia's market value sat under $4 trillion most of the day, then finished above it. The stock had already lost 9.6% on Monday and Tuesday, before the board accepted the resignation. As of that CBS update, the company had shed almost $500 billion in value since the close of trading last week.

Yorkville Ives analyst Dan Ives told CBS that Huang's "value to the company pre and post this week is dramatically different." Ives estimated Nvidia at $225 a share with Huang gone, against $300 if he had stayed, CBS reported. Friday's trading came after this story was written.

Their side

"The Board has full confidence in Colette and the leadership team, and we expect the company's operations, customer commitments and product roadmap to continue without interruption," Jones said in Nvidia's release. Kress said: "I am committed to building on the extraordinary foundation Jensen created over the last 33 years."

Trump said Sunday that he had not spoken to Huang about the reports, Reuters reported. Huang's own words came in a message to Nvidia employees, which Nvidia shared with ABC News on Sunday, Nov. 8. He said he had been "unfaithful" and wrote: "My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry." The message named no one, ABC reported.

As of 5:45 p.m. Eastern Thursday, we found no statement from Huang on his resignation. We also found no public statement from the State Board of Administration about its Nvidia holding.

What's next

What's next: The pension's Sept. 30 holdings are due Monday, Nov. 16, and were not yet filed as of 5:42 p.m. Eastern Thursday. The SEC gives each filer 45 days after a quarter ends and moves a weekend deadline to the next business day. Nvidia reports quarterly results Tuesday, Nov. 17, at about 4:20 p.m. Eastern, with its call at 5 p.m., by our time conversion. Kress is expected to speak on the call, Yahoo Finance reported.

Congress wants to hear from Huang too, and he has agreed to come. Republicans on the House China committee asked him to a closed-door briefing on Nov. 18 about his relationship with Alice Huang, ABC News reported Wednesday. The request came from the chairs of three House committees: John Moolenaar of the China committee, Rick Crawford of Intelligence and Rep. Brian Mast, a Florida Republican who chairs Foreign Affairs, CBS News reported. Before Huang answered, ABC asked Mast whether he would consider a subpoena if Huang did not respond, and Mast said "absolutely." On Thursday Mast said Huang had agreed to appear before Thanksgiving, behind closed doors, and that he expected the session to be recorded on video and transcribed, TechCrunch reported, citing Bloomberg and NBC News. The date is not set. "We are in discussions with him right now on a date to come and meet with us," Moolenaar said, CBS reported.

Sources we read

Nvidia Form 8-K, Item 5.02, and its press release, Ex. 99.1, Nov. 12, 2026 (SEC EDGAR). Nvidia proxy statement, May 12, 2026, and Nvidia's biography of Huang. CBS News MoneyWatch (Aimee Picchi), Nov. 12. Reuters (Rajesh Kumar Singh), Nov. 8, run by The Star. SiliconAngle (Mike Wheatley), Nov. 9. Trump's Truth Social post, Nov. 12. Yahoo Finance live coverage (Ben Werschkul, Ines Ferré), Nov. 12. CNBC, Nov. 12. ABC News, Nov. 11 (via ABC30) and Nov. 12. CBS News, Nov. 12, updated 1:09 p.m. Eastern. TechCrunch, Nov. 12, citing Bloomberg and NBC News. The New Republic, Nov. 12. Reuters (Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff, Andrew Goudsward), Nov. 12. Bloomberg (Ian King), Nov. 12, as run by Claims Journal. CNBC live updates, Nov. 12. Rep. Brian Mast's House page. State Board of Administration of Florida, Forms 13F-HR for June 30 and March 31, 2026, and its EDGAR filer index. SEC Division of Investment Management, Form 13F FAQ. Florida Statutes s. 215.44.