Nvidia lost $600B in value as the Jensen Huang scandal exploded — but insiders had already sold $1B+. Lucky or illegal? Mike Crisolago Fri, November 13, 2026 at 4:35 PM EST 4 min read NVDA -2.52% Trade NVIDIA on Coinbase Trading disclosure Trading disclosure The above button links to Coinbase. Yahoo Finance is not a broker-dealer or investment adviser and does not offer securities or cryptocurrencies for sale or facilitate trading. Coinbase pays us for certain activity generated through this link. Prices displayed are informational.
The resignation of Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang this week following revelations of an affair with an alleged Chinese spy, as well as up to two employees, sent shockwaves through the tech world and blew a hole in the company's stock price.
"The company has lost around $600 billion in market value so far this week, surely making this one of the most expensive corporate crises in history," one observer wrote.
Jeff Bezos backs a platform that lets anyone invest in rental homes for as little as $100 — 5 ways to build wealth like a landlord without actually being one
Dave Ramsey warns nearly 50% of Americans are making 1 big Social Security mistake. Here's what it is and 3 simple steps to fix it ASAP
A single line on your car insurance policy could be inflating your premium by up to 30% — here's what to change
In fact, Nvidia stock is down roughly 33% from its Oct. 6 high of $239 a share, trading Friday midday at around $161.
But some company insiders sold off more than a billion dollars in Nvidia stock in the months leading up to the Huang affair revelations, raising questions about who, if anyone, knew this scandal — and the hit the stock could take — was coming.
For example, board member Mark Stevens sold off $946 million worth of stock in the months before the scandal broke, without a trading plan. Overall SEC filings show he sold $1.35 billion worth of Nvidia stock over the last six months, with one report noting the sales were done through a family trust and could simply be a trimming of his company investment. Stevens still owns more than 27 million Nvidia shares.
Other insiders also sold off millions of dollars worth of shares since late August, like interim CEO Colette Kress, who unloaded shares worth $7.6 million, while Timothy Teter, the company's executive vice president and general counsel, sold stock worth $13.3 million. Some of the aforementioned sales were pre-arranged.
In total, Nasdaq reports 18 Nvidia share sales and one buy in the last three months by company insiders. But simply making such trades around the same time that the bombshell Jensen Huang news dropped doesn't constitute illegal insider trading.
U.S. law says illegal insider trading involves buying, selling, or tipping someone off to a security "on the basis of material, nonpublic information about the security." And that can include "corporate officers, directors, and employees who traded the corporation's securities after learning of significant, confidential corporate developments."
While Huang's affairs certainly qualify as significant corporate developments, simply having executed trades before the news became public doesn't mean that anything illegal occurred. There is no evidence of intentional fraud or breach of duty or trust — elements investigators must establish in illegal insider trading cases.
Nvidia didn't return a request for comment, while an SEC spokesperson told Moneywise that they declined to comment on the matter.
Read More: Vanguard reveals what's coming for U.S. stocks — and it could be bad news for this group of investors
While there's no evidence of insider trading, Nvidia isn't off the legal hook just yet. The Huang scandal already resulted in a proposed securities class-action lawsuit alleging Nvidia "failed to disclose material facts to investors who bought from October 9, 2025 through November 8, 2026" in relation to the company's relationship with Megaspeed, the cloud-computing company where the woman with whom Huang admitted an affair worked.
Millionaires under 45 keep two-thirds of their wealth out of stocks. Here's where their money is actually going
The tax breaks in Trump's 'big beautiful bill' expire after 2028. Here are 4 moves to make before the window closes
Here are the 7 top habits of 'quietly wealthy' Americans. How many do you follow?
Your cash is rotting in a regular savings account. Here are 4 simple ways to grow your money (and no, you don't have to touch the stock market)
Join 250,000+ readers and get Moneywise's best stories and exclusive interviews first — clear insights curated and delivered weekly. Subscribe now.
This article originally appeared on Moneywise.com under the title: Nvidia lost $600B in value as the Jensen Huang scandal exploded — but insiders had already sold $1B+. Lucky or illegal?
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
