Eric Gullichsen, a former technical advisor to NVIDIA, has disclosed that he missed out on approximately $1 billion worth of NVIDIA stock due to an error in a 1996 notification regarding his stock options.
Former NVIDIA Technical Advisor Missed $1 Billion in Stock Options Due to Vesting Error
Gullichsen joined NVIDIA's Technical Advisory Board in 1993 and was granted 25,000 stock options. While NVIDIA's CFO and legal counsel informed him in April 1996 that 15,625 shares had vested and needed to be exercised within 90 days, Gullichsen discovered in 2024 that his signed contract actually specified a one-year vesting schedule rather than the four-year period NVIDIA claimed.
Under the correct one-year schedule, all 25,000 shares should have vested well before the 1996 notice. Due to subsequent stock splits, the 9,375 shares he was unable to exercise represent 4.5 million shares, valued at approximately $1.03 billion as of late September 2026.
Gullichsen engaged legal counsel to negotiate with NVIDIA, but the company maintained that the claim is barred by the statute of limitations due to the thirty-year delay. Consequently, Gullichsen has decided to forgo legal action.
Sources
- 30年前の契約書をちゃんと読んでいなかったために約1600億円分のNVIDIA株を購入しそこねた話 （GIGAZINE, 2026-09-29）
- エリック・グリクセン氏の投稿