Nvidia CEO’s iconic jacket sold for almost RM4 million at auction

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is perhaps one of the most recognisable men in the tech industry, thanks in part to his signature look. It’s almost impossible to imagine him without his grey hair, glasses and perhaps most importantly, his black leather jacket.

As it turns out, quite a lot of people want to get their hands on said jacket, considering how much it just went for at auction. Sotheby’s recently held an auction for ‘The Jensen Jacket’, a signed Tom Ford leather jacket belonging to Jensen Huang, which he wore during the Hon Hai Tech Day in Taipei, Taiwan back in October 2023.

“Instantly recognizable to audiences around the world, the “Jensen Jacket” has come to be a relic of a simple belief: that the future is built by people brave enough to journey into the unknown before anyone else can see what they see.

This is not only a jacket. It is the uniform of a “first believer”; a symbol of his leadership style embodying authenticity, ingenuity, persistence, courage and joy. It has become a symbol for the vision at the forefront of the AI revolution,” – Sotheby’s

The auction house expected it to go for roughly USD40,000 to USD60,000; it ended up going for a whopping USD960,000 (~RM3.93 million).

Considering that the actual retail price of one of these jackets is about USD10,000, that’s nearly a 10 fold increase on Jensen’s jacket. Sotheby’s themselves were stunned by how high the bids went, with bids coming in from 45 different collectors.

Of course, it’s all for a good cause. The auction was held as part of a philanthropic initiative by Long Journey Ventures, in attempt to benefit the Edge Institute. The Edge Institute is a non-profit that works to gather people working in cutting edge tech, science and culture industries, housing them in popup villages to experiment and live together. Jensen’s jacket will help Edge Institute fund fellowships, grants and residencies for the next generation of young builders, perhaps one just like Jensen.

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