NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang has a nickname – Mr Leather Jacket. Because he always got that drip on him at major product launches, AI events, and keynotes in recent years. Now that piece of him, yes, the actual one he owns and wears, is no longer his – as it has been auctioned away for a US$960,000 fetch.
If you were to go out and find this Tom Ford SS2023, you’d see roughly a US$9,000 price tag. Extremely affordable for a trillion-dollar company owner by the way.
On the other hand, Auction house Sotheby’s originally estimated Jensen’s iconic wardrobe would sell for between US$40,000 and US$60,000. Instead, intense bidding pushed the final hammer price to nearly US$1 million – roughly 16 times higher than the upper estimate.
To confirm the authenticity, Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) (yup, the one that grades Pokémon cards)hotomatched the garment by comparing its unique leather creases and wear patterns with photographs from Hon Hai (Foxconn) Tech Day in Taipei on October 18, 2023, where Huang wore the jacket during his keynote and executive meetings. The jacket also carries Huang’s signature, which was authenticated separately by James Spence Authentication.
The proceeds of the auction will go towards the Edge Institute, a nonprofit organization that supports innovators across technology, science, culture, and society. The funds will help finance fellowships, grants, and residency programs for the next generation of entrepreneurs and researchers through the institute’s Edge Cities initiative.
