Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's leather jacket sells for $960K at Sotheby's auction
Signed jacket sold after 65 bids, far above its $60K estimate
Leather jacket worn and signed by Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has sold for $960,000 at a Sotheby's auction, far exceeding its pre-sale estimate of $40,000 to $60,000.
CNBC reported that the winning bid came after 65 bids from 45 collectors, highlighting growing demand for memorabilia linked to the artificial intelligence boom.
Auction price far exceeds estimate
Huang's signature black Tom Ford leather jacket, which retailed for just under $10,000, sold for nearly 100 times its original price.
The Nvidia chief executive wore the jacket during a Foxconn event in Taipei, Taiwan, in 2023.
Sotheby's said the strong bidding surpassed expectations and reflected increasing interest in collectibles associated with influential figures in the AI industry.
Sotheby's sees growing demand for AI collectibles
"The response to this sale surpassed even our highest expectations," Sotheby's head of modern collectibles, Brahm Wachter, said in a statement.
According to the auction house, 45 collectors competed for the jacket before it sold for $960,000.
The proceeds from the auction will support the Edge Institute, a nonprofit organisation focused on innovation through fellowships, grants and residency programmes.
Huang's leather jacket has become his trademark
Huang has worn black leather jackets at product launches, trade shows and company events for nearly two decades, making the look synonymous with the Nvidia chief.
He has previously joked that his wife and daughter choose his outfits and once described himself as "the guy in the leather jacket."
His signature style has also drawn attention from fellow technology leaders. In 2024, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg exchanged jackets with Huang during a light-hearted "jersey swap" before later receiving one of Huang's worn jackets on stage at a technology conference.
"This is worth more because it's used," Zuckerberg joked at the time.
