NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang jokingly shares his biggest regret in life at the Davos World Economic Forum: after going public in 1999, he sold some of his shares to buy a Mercedes-Benz S-Class as a gift to his parents. Now, the “opportunity cost” of that car amounts to $1.2 billion, and he humorously calls it “the most expensive car in the world.”
(Background: Huang Huang boldly states, “Almost the whole world is wrong.” How does NVIDIA stand firm against DeepSeek threats?)
(Additional context: Huang Huang also praises! Why has the podcast “Acquired” become a must-listen for Silicon Valley and Wall Street elites?)

Table of Contents

• Selling stocks to honor filial piety and give gifts, the only regret of his life
• “The most expensive car in the world”
• Witnessing the incredible power of long-term holding
• Emotional fulfillment is even more precious

NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang recently shared his “only regret” in his career at the 2026 World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. This seemingly lighthearted story unexpectedly reveals the astonishing growth of NVIDIA’s stock price over the past 27 years and has attracted global attention.

Selling stocks to honor filial piety and give gifts, the only regret of his life

Huang Huang mentioned this experience during a public discussion with BlackRock CEO Larry Fink. He recalled that shortly after NVIDIA’s successful IPO in 1999, he decided to sell some of his NVIDIA shares to share the joy of the company’s listing with his parents. He bought them a brand-new Mercedes-Benz S-Class luxury sedan, priced between $78,000 and $80,000 at the time.

Huang Huang emphasized that his decision was purely out of filial piety and a desire to share happiness, not due to financial pressure. At that time, NVIDIA’s market value was only about $300 million, and he did not foresee the company’s future scale of development.

“The most expensive car in the world”

With the AI wave sweeping the globe, NVIDIA has become a core driver of the AI industry in recent years, with a market capitalization exceeding $4 trillion, making it one of the most valuable companies worldwide. If calculated based on the proportion of shares sold back then, the current value of that portion of stock could be as high as $1.2 billion.

In a self-deprecating tone, Huang Huang joked that the Mercedes S-Class “might be the most expensive car in the world.” He also added that his parents still keep that car, and every time they talk about this story, the family feels regret over selling the stock too early.

Witnessing the incredible power of long-term holding

This story reflects the remarkable long-term performance of NVIDIA’s stock. Since going public in 1999, NVIDIA’s stock price has increased by over tens of thousands of times, becoming one of the most iconic wealth growth stories in the global tech industry, and sparking renewed discussions on “long-term holding” and the value of technological innovation.

Huang Huang stated at the forum that he is now more focused on the fundamentals of the AI industry and believes that the world is currently experiencing the largest infrastructure investment wave in history, covering data centers, power systems, and talent development, which will drive massive employment opportunities and economic growth in the future.

Emotional fulfillment is even more precious

Huang Huang called this his “only regret” in an interview, but from a broader perspective, the author believes that perhaps this is not his true “regret” in the real sense. The decision to sell stocks and buy a car at that time brought genuine joy to his parents and warm moments of sharing success with the family—an emotional satisfaction and family connection that money cannot replicate or replace. Even now, that familial experience has become an eternal memory, not a loss that can be compensated with wealth.

For Huang Huang, whose net worth has now reached hundreds of billions of dollars, an extra $1.2 billion in stocks is just an increase in the wealth number, with limited impact on quality of life or personal fulfillment. In contrast, the decision made for his parents back then is more precious and meaningful.

Looking at the classic case in the cryptocurrency field: in 2010, Laszlo Hanyecz paid 10,000 bitcoins for two pizzas, which today are worth an astronomical amount—truly a missed opportunity. Huang Huang’s story, while impressive in numbers, still carries positive values of filial piety and family warmth; the Bitcoin pizza event is closer to a pure investment mistake and remains one of the most iconic regrets in crypto history.