AMD hits $378B valuation, but CEO is barely billionaire: Why?
What's the story
Lisa Su, the CEO of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), has led the company to become one of the world's most valuable firms. Under her leadership, AMD's stock price has skyrocketed by 70-fold in 11 years, including a 41% surge recently.. The company's market capitalization has now hit a whopping $378 billion. Despite the impressive figures, Su doesn't rank among the world's 500 richest individuals, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Wealth disparity
Su's wealth compared to Huang's
Su's personal wealth, as per Forbes, stands at just $1.5 billion, far less than her peers in the industry, like Jensen Huang of NVIDIA, who is worth around $167 billion. The difference in their wealth can be attributed to the fact that Huang co-founded NVIDIA, while AMD was established in 1969 by a group of engineers from Fairchild Semiconductor. Also, NVIDIA's market value stands at an unmatched $4.7 trillion, roughly 12 times that of AMD.
Financial breakdown
Su owns about 4.7 million shares of AMD
According to AMD filings, Su owns around 4.7 million shares or a 0.3% stake in the company. This is worth nearly $1.1 billion based on the company's stock price before Friday's market opening. Last year, her total compensation, including salary, bonuses, and stock options, was around $31 million, according to these filings.
Market comparison
NVIDIA still holds a significant stake for Huang
Huang still owns nearly a 4% stake in NVIDIA, which is worth over $160 billion despite major dilution over the years. This is a stark contrast to Su's smaller ownership stake at AMD. However, it's important to note that AMD has almost doubled its stock value this year as investors buy into Su's vision of creating an AI hardware, software, and services ecosystem.