A seat aboard Air Force One is not something most people can imagine earning through a lifetime of work, but for Jensen Huang, it represents just how extraordinary his journey has been. The Nvidia co-founder, whose fortune once placed him among the world’s ten richest people, received a personal invitation from the US president to join the presidential flight to China in May 2026. Yet, long before he became one of the most influential figures in technology, Huang was a young engineer whose ambitions were considerably more modest, and whose dream purchase required months of careful saving. That purchase was a red Toyota Supra, a car that would become part of a remarkable chapter in his personal life.
Huang joined AMD at just 20, earning an annual salary of $28,700, a figure he remembered even four decades later. Within roughly a year of starting the job, he had saved enough to buy the Supra and an engagement ring for his future wife, Lori. The car was a red, two-door Toyota Supra with a six-cylinder engine, which Huang has since described on the Acquired podcast as one of his favorite cars and among his most cherished memories, as reported by Now News. Historical pricing for the 1984 Celica Supra ranged from $15,074 to $16,324, representing more than half of his reported annual salary, although his car’s exact model year, trim, and purchase price remain unconfirmed.
From saving for a Supra to building a $151 billion fortune
The Supra was more than just a car for Huang, as it became part of one of the most dramatic episodes of his early life. In 1984, after proposing to Lori at AMD’s Christmas party in San Francisco, the couple set off on an overnight drive to Oregon to share the news with her parents. Their journey took a frightening turn near the California-Oregon border when the Supra hit black ice and rolled over, leaving rescuers to cut them out of the wreckage. Lori escaped with minor injuries, while Huang needed stitches and a neck brace, later recalling on the Acquired podcast, “We were this close to the end.” Despite the accident, he continued to speak fondly of the car, which remains closely associated with his early years.
Today, the financial picture could hardly be more different. Huang went on to build Nvidia into one of the world’s most valuable technology companies, turning himself into a billionaire whose fortune at one point placed him among the ten richest people on the planet. However, following the recent controversy, his estimated net worth has fallen to around $151 billion, pushing him outside the global top 10 richest rankings. Even with that decline, the distance between the young engineer saving for a Toyota and the technology executive commanding a nine-figure fortune is extraordinary.
The invitation that took him aboard Air Force One
Huang’s transformation was particularly visible during the US presidential delegation’s trip to China in May 2026. He was not initially included on the official list of business leaders accompanying the delegation, but received a personal invitation from the US president after his absence attracted attention. He subsequently flew to Alaska and boarded Air Force One during its refueling stop in Anchorage, joining the journey to Beijing. The aircraft was a specially configured Boeing VC-25A, one of two modified 747s used for presidential travel, featuring approximately 4,000 square feet of interior space spread across three levels. Huang later described the invitation as a great opportunity to represent America and support the president.
There is something particularly striking about the contrast between these two moments in Huang’s life. The young man who once had to carefully save his salary to afford a sports car eventually became one of the most influential executives in the technology industry, with a personal fortune running into hundreds of billions of dollars.
The Mercedes-Benz EQS Jensen Huang chose as his daily ride puts Nvidia chips to work behind its 56-inch MBUX Hyperscreen, which houses three displays beneath a single sweep of glass.
He now travels in a Mercedes-Benz EQS for security reasons, a vehicle that also incorporates Nvidia technology, rather than driving himself around in the Supra he once worked so hard to afford. From a red Toyota bought with hard-earned savings to a seat aboard Air Force One, Huang’s journey is a reminder of just how dramatically life can change over four decades.
