Who is Lori Huang, wife of billionaire Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang?

She has supported Jensen since their university days and co-leads the Jen-Hsun and Lori Huang Foundation, which makes donations to various public health initiatives, according to the South China Morning Post.

Lori, formerly Lori Mills, studied engineering at Oregon State University, where she first met Jensen. At the time, she was 19 and stood out as one of only three women in a class of 250 engineering students.

Jensen, then just 17, recalled their first interaction in an interview last year: "I was the youngest kid in school and in class. [...] I walked up to her and I said, ‘do you want to see my homework?’"

Jensen Huang and his wife Lori. Photo by Oregon State University

They began to have a study date every Sunday, and Jensen told her that he would become a CEO by age 30. He kept the promise when he founded Nvidia in 1993.

The relationship with Lori, and the study at Oregon State University, both played an important role in the career development of Jensen.

"I enjoyed computers growing up, but Oregon State University opened up my eyes to the magic behind them," he said, according to the school’s website.

"This is where I really fell in love with technology, thanks to a few great professors and some classes that set my mind on fire. Everything I have learned over the past decades is built on the strong foundation I gained here."

Although Lori leads a quiet life from the public, she is known to be generous in charitable work.

Lori and Jensen donated approximately US$60 million in 2023 and US$66 million in 2022, primarily to their charitable fund The Huang Foundation, with US$10 million going to Oregon State University and US$900,000 to the American Friends of Magen David Adom.

A spokesperson for the Huangs stated, "The Huang Foundation supports higher education, public health and [science, technology, engineering, and mathematics] initiatives across the U.S., alongside local community organizations in the San Francisco Bay area.

"By taking a long-term approach, the foundation ensures that its resources will continue to support critical causes well into the future, maximizing its charitable impact over time."

The couple has two children. Their daughter Madison serves as a director of marketing at Nvidia, and their son Spencer is a senior product manager at the company.

Jensen credits his wife and children for his iconic black leather jacket look. "I’m happy that my wife and my daughter dresses me."

Lori has stood by Jensen for 40 years. The Seattle Times reports that as early as 2012, the couple took measures to protect their wealth from estate taxes. Forbes estimates Jensen’s net worth at US$113 billion.