Jensen Huang’s faith journey remains private. While the Taiwanese-American tech leader shares little about his religious beliefs, biographies note he once attended the Oneida Baptist Institute in Kentucky as a youth, yet he has not publicly declared any faith affiliation.
Quick Profile: Jensen Huang
| Full Name | Jen-Hsun Huang |
| Date of Birth | February 17, 1963 |
| Nationality | Taiwanese American |
| Profession | Business executive and electrical engineer |
| Company | Nvidia (co founder and CEO) |
| Religion | Unknown |
| Net worth | $180 billion |
What religion is Jensen Huang?
No reliable sources state Jensen Huang’s religion. In interviews and biographies his personal faith is not mentioned. He was educated at a Baptist reform school as a child, but that was due to his family’s circumstances, not a reflection of his own beliefs. In the absence of any public statement or credible report about his faith, it is most accurate to say his religion is unknown or private.
Huang himself has not spoken about any spiritual background, and major profiles (for example in Britannica) make no mention of a religion. Any specific claims (for example that he is Buddhist) come from unverified articles and are not supported by authoritative sources. Thus, Jensen Huang’s religious affiliation remains undisclosed.
Early life
Jensen Huang was born in Taipei, Taiwan in 1963 to a middle-class family. When he was five years old, his family moved to Thailand, and at age nine they sent him to live in the United States for schooling. He spent several years in rural Kentucky at the Oneida Baptist Institute, a Christian reform school for troubled youth, after relatives mistakenly enrolled him there. Conditions were harsh, Huang and his brother were forced to do chores and faced bullying. He later recalled that period vividly, even noting he remembered it “more vividly than just about any other” part of his life. During those years he cleaned the dorm toilets every day and discovered table tennis, rising to a high skill level and even appearing in Sports Illustrated as a teenager. These experiences taught him discipline and work ethic at a young age.
After two years at the institute, Huang’s parents moved the family to Oregon. As a high school student in Oregon, he excelled academically, skipping grades and becoming a nationally ranked table tennis player while also taking advanced math and science courses. By age 16 he had graduated from Aloha High School. During this time he worked long hours on the night shift at a Denny’s restaurant to help support the family.
Career journey
Jensen Huang co-founded Nvidia in 1993 with colleagues Chris Malachowsky and Curtis Priem. The company began by designing graphics processing units (GPUs) for video games, and Huang became its president and CEO at age 30. In those early years Huang guided Nvidia through challenges and secured venture funding. The firm went public in 1999 and developed a reputation for innovation in computer graphics chips.
Under Huang’s leadership Nvidia expanded beyond gaming into fields like high-performance computing and artificial intelligence. He led development of GPUs that became central to emerging AI technology. This success made Nvidia a tech powerhouse, by late 2025 the company’s market value briefly surpassed $5 trillion, the first firm ever to reach that milestone. As Nvidia soared, Huang’s stake in the company grew immensely. By October 2025 Reuters reported that his personal holdings were worth about $180 billion, ranking him as the eighth-richest person in the world. Over three decades he has remained in charge of Nvidia, supervising its growth from a startup to one of Silicon Valley’s dominant companies.
Achievements
Huang’s career accomplishments have earned him widespread recognition. He has been honored with major industry awards and listings. For example, in 2017 Fortune magazine named him its Businessperson of the Year, and in 2019 Harvard Business Review ranked him the world’s top CEO. Time magazine included him in its “100 Most Influential People” list (in 2021 and again in 2024). In 2025 Huang shared the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering, a top honor for innovators in technology. Other awards include the IEEE Founders Medal and the Edison Award, reflecting his impact on engineering and industry.
Under Huang’s guidance Nvidia became famous for its role in the AI boom. Observers note that GPU performance has been improving faster than Moore’s Law predicted, a trend informally dubbed “Huang’s law” in his honor. His leadership style and technical foresight have made him an iconic figure in tech.
Philanthropy
Jensen Huang and his wife Lori are notable philanthropists. In 2007 they established the Jen-Hsun and Lori Huang Foundation with an initial gift of Nvidia stock. That foundation has grown to hold billions of dollars in assets and focuses on education, science and technology initiatives. For instance, in 2019 the Huangs donated $2 million to the Oneida Baptist Institute (his old school in Kentucky) to fund a new dormitory and classrooms. In 2022 they gave $50 million to Oregon State University (his alma mater) to build a new AI and robotics research center. The foundation also donated $30 million to Stanford University for an engineering building. In total, Huang has directed hundreds of millions of dollars to education, technology and community projects through these gifts.
Beyond education, Nvidia under Huang contributed to global causes. For example, after the 2008 Sichuan earthquake Nvidia helped build a school in Beijing for affected students. The foundation has supported science and public health programs as well as arts and community nonprofits. These efforts reflect Huang’s commitment to giving back, especially in areas connected to his own life experience (like his Kentucky school and U.S. universities).
Personal life
Jensen Huang married Lori Mills in 1985. The couple lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and has two children. They are known to maintain a private family life. Huang’s story is also notable for a personal connection, his cousin is Lisa Su, the CEO of AMD, another leading chip company. Both grew up in Taiwan and later became rival executives in the semiconductor industry, an interesting family link in tech.
In interviews and public appearances, Huang is often described as energetic and thoughtful. He is famous for wearing a black leather jacket at Nvidia events, a trademark look. While he rarely discusses personal beliefs, his background and actions (including charitable work) reflect values of education, hard work and innovation. Friends and colleagues note that he remains focused on the present, a philosophy he summarized by saying he does not wear a watch because “now is the most important time.”
His peers recognize him as a visionary CEO. For instance, at Nvidia conferences he shares insights about the future of AI and computing. He has also served on various academic and industry advisory boards, though he keeps a low public profile outside tech circles.
