480 RTX 5090s: Someone just paid almost a million for Nvidia CEO's signed leather jacket

A black Tom Ford leather jacket worn by Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang sold at Sotheby's in New York on July 17 for $960,000 — nearly 16 times its high pre-sale estimate of $60,000, and enough money to buy approximately 480 RTX 5090 graphics cards at retail.

The auction drew 65 bids from 45 different collectors before closing. Sotheby's head of modern collectibles Brahm Wachter said the response surpassed even their highest expectations. The jacket had been worn by Huang at a Foxconn event in Taipei in October 2023, and was photomatched to that appearance by PSA. The signature itself was authenticated by James Spence Authentication.

The retail price of a Tom Ford leather jacket is just under $10,000. If you consider that, the final hammer price was roughly 96 times what you'd pay walking into a store. It's clear that collectors were clearly bidding on not the garment itself, but what it represents — Huang has worn variations of the same black leather jacket to product launches, developer conferences, and major AI announcements for nearly two decades. You could even call it one of the most recognizable CEO uniforms in the tech industry.

In 2024, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Huang did a pro sports-style jersey swap, and Huang later gave Zuckerberg one he had been wearing that day on stage at a graphics conference. "This is worth more because it's used," Zuckerberg said.

Proceeds go to the Edge Institute, a nonprofit funding fellowships, grants, and residencies for the "next generation of technology builders".