Billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller (Trades, Portfolio), founder of Duquesne Family Office, acknowledged that his decision to sell NVIDIA (NVDA, Financial) shares earlier this year was a significant mistake. Druckenmiller, who ranks among the world's 500 wealthiest individuals with a net worth of approximately $6.9 billion, admitted selling all his NVIDIA holdings at around $80 to $95 per share after the company's 10-to-1 stock split.
On the day of his acknowledgment, NVIDIA's stock closed at $135.72. The stock has soared, increasing by 239% last year and climbing another 174% this year, reaching an all-time high. NVIDIA has been a primary beneficiary of the AI boom, supplying its graphics processing units (GPUs) to leading cloud computing companies and major developers of large language models.
Earlier this year, Druckenmiller disclosed that by late March, he had significantly reduced the Duquesne Family Office's stake in NVIDIA, citing concerns that the AI potential might be overstated in the short term. Initially, they held about 6.18 million shares at the beginning of the year, which dwindled to 1.76 million by the end of the first quarter and just 214,000 by the second quarter's end. In the third quarter of the previous year, NVIDIA was Druckenmiller's top holding with 8.75 million shares, valued at approximately $400 million.
If Druckenmiller had maintained his NVIDIA position, its current value would be around $1.19 billion. The Duquesne Family Office has not yet disclosed its third-quarter holdings. Druckenmiller expressed admiration for NVIDIA as a company and mentioned the possibility of reinvesting if the stock price declines, despite currently dealing with the fallout from his sell-off.
NVIDIA is set to announce its quarterly performance in November, with key clients such as Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet expected to release their financial results later this month. These reports are anticipated to shed more light on the prospects for NVIDIA's chip sales.
