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> Even Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, is "only" being paid $34M in 2024. 26.6M of that was stock. In percentage terms it's just equity that he effectively handed

by dheera 2y ago

> Even Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, is "only" being paid $34M in 2024. 26.6M of that was stock. In percentage terms it's just equity that he effectively handed out before as a founder and is getting back in return for growing the company even more. I don't see a problem with it, considering that the median employee takes almost zero risks and can leave whenever they want.

TechDebtDevin 2y ago
Investing your talent and time in a company is a potential risk.
- chii 2y ago
  an employee is not taking risk "investing in time" in a company, because they are paid wages for it. If it were the case that employees need to put in capital into the business before being employees, then it would be a different story. In fact, those schemes exist - they're called MLM, or multi-level-marketing schemes, where you pay the company upfront to buy the product, and try to sell it at a profit (like herbalife), and try to recruit on behalf of the company!
RicoElectrico 2y ago
No, the risk for regular employee is higher due to downside vs upside. Once you cross some wealth threshold, it's not possible to lose everything (e.g. become homeless) unless you do something deliberately stupid like gambling or drugs. There's always plan B if you're rich. Like, rent out property or something.
- dheera 2y ago
  The risk for a software engineer at any of the big tech companies is extremely low if you have some common sense level of financial literacy. If you're an engineer at Nvidia you'd have to do some braindead stupid things with your money to end up homeless. Also, if you have technical skills at a level that Nvidia would hire you, you can easily get a job at probably a thousand other companies. Layoffs are a non-issue. Recruiters will be scrambling to hire ex-Nvidia folks in the event of a mass layoff, barring a major global financial collapse (in which case you're still better off than 95% of the population).
- lnsru 2y ago
  Thanks for writing this. Owning a place to live and couple rental properties makes one economically independent. Leaving a toxic workplace means loosing fancy car and canceling expensive vacation. Loosing job before that wealth threshold means homelessness and poverty.
  - dheera 2y ago
    > Leaving a toxic workplace means loosing fancy car and canceling expensive vacation. > Loosing job before that wealth threshold means homelessness and poverty. No, it doesn't. Maybe don't borrow money and buy a fancy car and vacations you can't afford? Buy a normal car with cash and go on normal middle-class vacations? If you work in an mid-level engineer capacity at a FAANG or Nvidia in the Bay Area you can easily live on 1/3 of your take-home compensation (that's including a normal car, a couple economy-class vacations a year, and a modest apartment) and invest the rest in index funds. Within a few years of working, you would have banked enough to have a decade worth of expenses saved before you'll be homeless, and I'm sure you can find another job in that decade. I work at a big tech company, my (very normal) car cost me 1/10 of my annual take-home salary, I've never flown anything but economy class, and I save 60-75% of my take home pay and invest it. I can't afford rental properties or any of that, but I do have enough funds to last me several years at my current lifestyle. Back when I was at startups (including co-founding one), I was never able to save more than a few months' worth of emergency fund, and that was not good for my mental health. That's one of the reason I joined a big tech company for now -- to de-risk myself financially. Startups are financially FAR higher risk. You'll get 1/4 the pay that Nvidia gives you, the equity may end up being worth $0, and if it does end up being worth $0, you'll have missed out on the opportunity cost of being hired at any of the FAANG companies for whatever time you spent there. I'm not discouraging anyone from doing a startup, but it IS higher financial risk in every way.
    - throwaway2037 2y ago
      Wow, 60-75% savings rate is incredible. > I can't afford rental properties or any of that Why not? Combine a 10% down payment and a bank loan. You can definitely afford it.
- robertlagrant 2y ago
  > No, the risk for regular employee is higher due to downside vs upside People start businesses and actually risk everything they have on them. If you only look at someone who owns and runs the biggest company in the world, you're just using the apex fallacy[0] to justify your perspective, and hoping nobody notices. [0] https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Apex_fallacy https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Apex_fallacy
rendaw 2y ago
What risk does Jensen Huang take and why can't he leave whenever he wants?
- sgammon 2y ago
  Are you kidding?
  - rendaw 2y ago
    IIUC you think it's obvious but it's possible it's not obvious or that different people have different views on it, all of which they consider obvious.
    - sgammon 2y ago
      It's an honest question.
  - freilanzer 2y ago
    If I earn 30 million a year, I have next to no risk and can retire anytime I want. Hell, I could retire after the first quarter.
    - dheera 2y ago
      Do you realize that for the first N years of Nvidia, he probably made less than minimum wage, AND had immense responsibilities on his back to try to get the company to profitability? That's the risk. He's getting a 30M paycheck today only because he built a trillion dollar company from nothing and sacrificed the job opportunities he could have had at other companies for three decades.
      - mnau 2y ago
        Past is irrelevant. He too the risk and got handsomely rewarded for incredible success as he should. But that is his stock he kept from founding the company. Not today. He should of course still be CEO of Nvidia and get the money(stock awards), because unlike others, Nvidia execution is excellent (see market cap) and has been for decades, but that is not really any risk for him personally.
brightlancer 2y ago
> considering that the median employee takes almost zero risks and can leave whenever they want. This is an important point that is often ignored. Within the past week there was a thread about "How to get paid FAANG money at non-FAANG companies", and someone mentioned starting your own business -- which folks (correctly) pointed out involved risks and time that most folks don't want to take. (Also, it's always funny on HN when someone sarcastically talks about a CEO "only" being paid an absurd amount of money, when almost all of us are getting paid multiples of the median salary, plus whatever annual bonuses and stock.)

by dheera 2y ago

TechDebtDevin 2y ago

Investing your talent and time in a company is a potential risk.

chii 2y ago
an employee is not taking risk "investing in time" in a company, because they are paid wages for it. If it were the case that employees need to put in capital into the business before being employees, then it would be a different story. In fact, those schemes exist - they're called MLM, or multi-level-marketing schemes, where you pay the company upfront to buy the product, and try to sell it at a profit (like herbalife), and try to recruit on behalf of the company!

RicoElectrico 2y ago

No, the risk for regular employee is higher due to downside vs upside. Once you cross some wealth threshold, it's not possible to lose everything (e.g. become homeless) unless you do something deliberately stupid like gambling or drugs. There's always plan B if you're rich. Like, rent out property or something.

dheera 2y ago
The risk for a software engineer at any of the big tech companies is extremely low if you have some common sense level of financial literacy. If you're an engineer at Nvidia you'd have to do some braindead stupid things with your money to end up homeless. Also, if you have technical skills at a level that Nvidia would hire you, you can easily get a job at probably a thousand other companies. Layoffs are a non-issue. Recruiters will be scrambling to hire ex-Nvidia folks in the event of a mass layoff, barring a major global financial collapse (in which case you're still better off than 95% of the population).
lnsru 2y ago
Thanks for writing this. Owning a place to live and couple rental properties makes one economically independent. Leaving a toxic workplace means loosing fancy car and canceling expensive vacation. Loosing job before that wealth threshold means homelessness and poverty.
- dheera 2y ago
  > Leaving a toxic workplace means loosing fancy car and canceling expensive vacation. > Loosing job before that wealth threshold means homelessness and poverty. No, it doesn't. Maybe don't borrow money and buy a fancy car and vacations you can't afford? Buy a normal car with cash and go on normal middle-class vacations? If you work in an mid-level engineer capacity at a FAANG or Nvidia in the Bay Area you can easily live on 1/3 of your take-home compensation (that's including a normal car, a couple economy-class vacations a year, and a modest apartment) and invest the rest in index funds. Within a few years of working, you would have banked enough to have a decade worth of expenses saved before you'll be homeless, and I'm sure you can find another job in that decade. I work at a big tech company, my (very normal) car cost me 1/10 of my annual take-home salary, I've never flown anything but economy class, and I save 60-75% of my take home pay and invest it. I can't afford rental properties or any of that, but I do have enough funds to last me several years at my current lifestyle. Back when I was at startups (including co-founding one), I was never able to save more than a few months' worth of emergency fund, and that was not good for my mental health. That's one of the reason I joined a big tech company for now -- to de-risk myself financially. Startups are financially FAR higher risk. You'll get 1/4 the pay that Nvidia gives you, the equity may end up being worth $0, and if it does end up being worth $0, you'll have missed out on the opportunity cost of being hired at any of the FAANG companies for whatever time you spent there. I'm not discouraging anyone from doing a startup, but it IS higher financial risk in every way.
  - throwaway2037 2y ago
    Wow, 60-75% savings rate is incredible. > I can't afford rental properties or any of that Why not? Combine a 10% down payment and a bank loan. You can definitely afford it.
robertlagrant 2y ago
> No, the risk for regular employee is higher due to downside vs upside People start businesses and actually risk everything they have on them. If you only look at someone who owns and runs the biggest company in the world, you're just using the apex fallacy[0] to justify your perspective, and hoping nobody notices. [0] https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Apex_fallacy https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Apex_fallacy

rendaw 2y ago

What risk does Jensen Huang take and why can't he leave whenever he wants?

sgammon 2y ago
Are you kidding?
- rendaw 2y ago
  IIUC you think it's obvious but it's possible it's not obvious or that different people have different views on it, all of which they consider obvious.
  - sgammon 2y ago
    It's an honest question.
- freilanzer 2y ago
  If I earn 30 million a year, I have next to no risk and can retire anytime I want. Hell, I could retire after the first quarter.
  - dheera 2y ago
    Do you realize that for the first N years of Nvidia, he probably made less than minimum wage, AND had immense responsibilities on his back to try to get the company to profitability? That's the risk. He's getting a 30M paycheck today only because he built a trillion dollar company from nothing and sacrificed the job opportunities he could have had at other companies for three decades.
    - mnau 2y ago
      Past is irrelevant. He too the risk and got handsomely rewarded for incredible success as he should. But that is his stock he kept from founding the company. Not today. He should of course still be CEO of Nvidia and get the money(stock awards), because unlike others, Nvidia execution is excellent (see market cap) and has been for decades, but that is not really any risk for him personally.

brightlancer 2y ago

> considering that the median employee takes almost zero risks and can leave whenever they want. This is an important point that is often ignored. Within the past week there was a thread about "How to get paid FAANG money at non-FAANG companies", and someone mentioned starting your own business -- which folks (correctly) pointed out involved risks and time that most folks don't want to take. (Also, it's always funny on HN when someone sarcastically talks about a CEO "only" being paid an absurd amount of money, when almost all of us are getting paid multiples of the median salary, plus whatever annual bonuses and stock.)