Billionaire Tax Loopholes: How Nvidia’s CEO is Skirting $8 Billion in Taxes

Because why pay taxes when you can afford an army of lawyers to make them disappear?

Jensen Huang, Nvidia’s CEO and the 10th-richest person in the U.S. with a net worth of $127 billion, has employed sophisticated tax strategies to shield his fortune from the 40% federal estate tax. According to an analysis by The New York Times, Huang’s estate could save approximately $8 billion through intricate financial maneuvers and legal loopholes. These strategies, widely used by the ultrawealthy, allow significant portions of dynastic wealth to pass to heirs tax-free, underscoring the diminishing impact of the federal estate tax.

Huang’s methods include irrevocable trusts and grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs), which allow assets to appreciate outside of taxable estates. A $7 million Nvidia share transfer in 2012, now valued at over $3 billion, will likely incur only a fraction of the estate tax it would otherwise owe. Noted tax attorney Jonathan Blattmachr called the strategy “a grand slam,” reflecting how such loopholes, initially devised by clever attorneys, have become mainstream tools for tax avoidance. "You have an army of well-trained, brilliant people...thinking up ways to beat this tax," remarked tax law expert Jack Bogdanski.

With enforcement of estate tax rules weakened by decades of IRS budget cuts, the richest Americans are exploiting these gaps to shift billions into trusts, private foundations, and donor-advised funds. Huang’s charitable foundation, for example, has not only supported philanthropic causes but also strategically reduced his taxable estate. This trend raises questions about tax fairness, as annual estate tax revenues lag far behind the pace of rising billionaire wealth, leaving billions untaxed.

Source: How One of the World’s Richest Men Is Avoiding $8 Billion in Taxes