Few corporate boards face a more difficult decision than whether to remove a founder. For Nvidia’s 10 highly paid senior leaders, however, weighing Jensen Huang’s future became particularly fraught after extraordinary claims emerged that the company’s celebrated co-founder had an affair with a woman alleged by US authorities to have links to Chinese intelligence.

Removing Huang could have wiped trillions of dollars from Nvidia’s market value, while destabilising a company whose fortunes have been closely tied to the billionaire for more than three decades.

Then, as the board prepared to meet on Wednesday, reports emerged of an alleged second affair.

The allegations now went beyond his reported association with a Chinese “businesswoman” suspected by the US government of passing information to Beijing. Huang was also accused of having a sexual relationship with one of his own subordinates — an offence treated with particular seriousness in the American corporate world.

Huang, 63, leads the vast semiconductor company at the centre of the artificial-intelligence boom. He was reportedly filmed by a bystander appearing “affectionate” with Kimberly Powell, 48, Nvidia’s vice-president of healthcare, at a hotel in San Jose, California.

Both Huang and Powell are married. Nvidia also maintains strict rules governing workplace relationships, especially those involving managers and employees, as was reportedly the case here.

Nvidia co-founder Jensen Huang, 63, has been married to Lori for more than 40 years after they met as laboratory partners at Oregon State University in the 1980s

Huang was reportedly filmed appearing “affectionate” with Nvidia vice-president of healthcare Kimberly Powell by a bystander at a hotel in San Jose, California

Huang’s security team reportedly asked the person who recorded the encounter to sign a non-disclosure agreement.

The New York Times reported that, when contacted on Wednesday about the alleged second affair, Huang replied: “I don’t think you should be talking to me directly,” before ending the call.

Sources said Nvidia executives already knew about the alleged relationship with Powell, and that board members had been discussing Huang’s removal before the claims became public.

Despite Huang’s central role in Nvidia’s extraordinary rise, the broader AI revolution and his reported closeness to President Donald Trump, sources said the double scandal left his position untenable.

Hours after Huang’s removal, Reuters reported a third alleged affair involving an “intimate relationship” with another, unnamed Nvidia employee. To many industry insiders, his effectively forced departure the following morning appeared inevitable, although the consequences were much harder to assess. One senior Trump administration official gave the Daily Mail a bleak prediction: “The world economy is f****d.”

Nvidia is the world’s only source of the advanced chips that power the computations behind AI. Huang’s influence has been so dominant that some observers have described the 42,000-employee company as a “one-man band”. The scale of his loss is therefore difficult to overstate.

Nvidia launched an investigation after The New York Times reported allegations concerning Alice Huang, who was described as a suspected Chinese Communist Party spy

The shock departure comes as investors are already increasingly concerned about the valuations of technology giants and their role in supporting financial markets. The collapse of one of AI’s most prominent evangelists is likely to intensify fears that the sector’s huge investment boom has created a bubble.

Nvidia shares duly fell by as much as 14 per cent after the announcement.

In a statement, Nvidia described Huang’s contribution to the company as “profound”. Few industrial tycoons — particularly one of the world’s richest people, with an estimated fortune of $155 billion — have experienced such a swift and dramatic fall. Within days, Huang had gone from tech superhero to the subject of jokes about the vanity of middle-aged men in leather jackets.

Just a week earlier, he was still being celebrated as the defining superstar of the technology boom, credited with creating trillions of dollars in shareholder value.

In Taiwan, his birthplace, the famously driven and exacting entrepreneur was treated as a national hero. Crowds of admirers gathered around the silver-haired executive, who cultivated an image far removed from that of the stereotypical technology geek, including through his fondness for Tom Ford clothing.

Sources said executives already knew about the alleged Powell relationship and that the board had considered removing Huang before the claims became public, writes Tom Leonard

The unraveling began last Sunday, when The New York Times reported that Huang had been unfaithful to his wife of 39 years, Lori Mills, through an alleged relationship with 49-year-old Alice Huang, who is not related to him. The report also said US intelligence agencies suspected Ms Huang of working as a spy for the Chinese Communist Party. Nvidia responded by announcing an independent investigation into whether its chief executive had been “the target of a foreign intelligence effort”.

Chinese authorities dismissed the allegations as “groundless smears”.

Huang, who only a month earlier had described his interactions with Alice as routine dealings with Chinese customers and executives and “completely normal”, subsequently issued a deeply apologetic message to Nvidia employees.

“I know an apology cannot undo what I have done,” he wrote in an email. “I hope our family will heal and that, over time, I can earn back your trust.”

Alice Huang and Jensen Huang were photographed together repeatedly at official events and dinners in Asia and California during 2024 and 2025. Her current whereabouts are unknown, and she has not publicly addressed the allegations.

She remains an elusive figure. Reports say she comes from a rural area of Hunan province and went on to work as a presenter for Chinese state television.

In the mid-2000s, she moved to Hong Kong to pursue a master’s degree in media studies before entering finance, where she reportedly began her career at HSBC.

Reports suggest she met Jensen through her businessman husband, Kang Wei, whom the Nvidia chief had known for about a decade through their shared work in video-game chips.

People familiar with the situation told The Wall Street Journal that Kang knew his wife had allegedly been seeing Jensen for two years and would boast about their relationship, joking that she was Huang’s personal assistant.

Alice Huang and Kang Wei reportedly explored several business ventures before moving into the lucrative trade in Nvidia chips.

Although the US prohibits the sale of its most advanced chips to China, the couple allegedly sent billions of dollars’ worth to the country through Megaspeed International, a Singapore-based company they established together.

US intelligence agencies reportedly believe that Ms Huang was recruited by China’s Ministry of State Security — the country’s equivalent of the CIA — because of her access to Jensen. Sources said his influence with Mr Trump, with whom he grew close as the President recognised AI’s strategic importance, would have made that access particularly valuable.

With allegations now involving three women, questions are being raised about whether Huang could lose not only his position at Nvidia but also his marriage, with potentially even greater financial consequences.

He has been married to Lori since 1985. She is the mother of their two children, Spencer and Madison, both in their 30s and now employed by Nvidia, and has played an important role in the business behind the scenes.

Lori has not commented on the events of this week.

The couple married long before Huang founded Nvidia in 1993 with two friends, holding the ceremony at a roadside diner where he had previously worked as a dishwasher and waiter.

They met at Oregon State University, and Huang has said Lori was “part of Nvidia every step of the way”. He reportedly told senior colleagues that she handled much of their personal administration, including paperwork and finances. He once joked that he did not even know their home address, let alone pay the household bills.

That suggests she would be well prepared for any divorce negotiations. Nvidia’s financial filings show that most of Huang’s company shares — he directly controls around 70 million, or approximately 3.5 per cent — are held in trusts for which both he and Lori are co-trustees.

One point is already clear: the scandal is far from over. Democrats are expected to revisit the matter aggressively if they regain control of Congress in January.

Mr Trump, who personally owns Nvidia shares and reportedly approached the company about helping fund a lavish ballroom project at the White House, could face questioning.

Even after US intelligence raised concerns about Huang’s reliability, the President continued to keep him close, including during a trip to China. Trump also listened to Huang’s advice that the US should sell Beijing as many Nvidia chips as it was willing to purchase.

That raises questions about why the Trump administration appeared so relaxed about limiting the ability of its principal geopolitical rival to develop AI.

A source close to the State Department told the Daily Mail there had been “chaos behind the scenes” at Nvidia, asking: “Did [Trump] bring someone compromised by a Chinese spy into top-secret briefings? This is potentially impeachable territory. Huang just gave the Democrats huge ammunition.”

There was also speculation that Huang could join Elon Musk’s SpaceX. Musk has already said it would be “an honour” to work with him.

Given SpaceX’s importance to defence through its satellite-internet network, particularly in supporting Ukraine, such a move could carry significant risks. Jensen Huang might, as one observer put it, be trading an alleged Chinese honeytrap for a Russian one.

Additional reporting: Phillip Nieto and Elina Shirazi in Washington DC. 

MATT RIDLEY: If Britain reaches its Net Zero target, the world will be just 0.00376C cooler by 2100. Is that REALLY worth £695bn?

Disturbing video shows the moment a Brooklyn family survived a building collapse, while neighbors said their homes had been shaking for weeks because of construction next door.

Eight people were killed when the three-story building in Flatbush collapsed at about 4 p.m. Wednesday as crews excavated an adjoining lot.

Newly released footage from inside one apartment captures the walls giving way while Anderson Velez’s family—including his 9-year-old and 2-year-old sons—was inside.

Velez was away when the collapse occurred, according to the video shared by CBS News, but his wife and children were home.

He said his wife and older son were hospitalized, while his younger child escaped injury.

A 44-year-old resident of a neighboring building said his home had vibrated every day since construction began nearby about a month earlier.

‘Since those people started building next door it’s everyday, every minute you hear it and feel it,’ the man, who was not named, told the US Sun outside the site.

Anderson Velez said he was away when the building collapsed, while his wife and sons, ages 2 and 9, were inside

Footage from inside an apartment shows the moment the Brooklyn building collapsed at about 4 p.m. Wednesday, killing eight people and injuring 18

The Flatbush Avenue building fell while workers were excavating an adjacent lot

Dervie Mapp, a 67-year-old retiree who lives beside the construction site, said she and other residents had raised concerns about the project for months. She witnessed the collapse firsthand.

‘People were running up out of the pit, screaming and hollering,’ Mapp told the Associated Press. ‘I couldn’t believe it.’

Mapp said she ‘froze’ as she watched ‘the whole thing come down.’

She said her landlord had previously arranged for engineers to inspect the building, but residents were never shown a report.

Sumathy Kumar, executive director of New York State Tenant Bloc and Housing Justice for All, said landlord Olufemi Falade had a ‘track record of tenant neglect,’ according to CNN.

Councilmember Farah Louis, who represents the neighborhood, also described Falade as a troubled landlord who failed to maintain his properties to code.

The eight victims included two Colombian children, Nicole Daniela Salvada Rodriguez, 9, and Kevin Santiago Reyes Gonzalez, 10, the New York City Police Department said.

Police and the Ecuadorian consulate in New York identified two other victims as José Luis Caguana Cosquillo, 26, and Gabriel Siguencia, 22.

Authorities also confirmed the deaths of Juan Daniel Salvada Guzman, 31, Ndiaye Mamadou, 31, Barry Mamadou, 23, and Edgar Sapon, 26.

A neighboring resident said his home had shaken daily since construction began nearby

José Luis Caguana Cosquillo, 26, an Ecuadorian migrant whose wife was heavily pregnant, was among those killed in the collapse

Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Thursday that inspections had been ordered at about 100 other New York City construction sites linked to companies involved in the project

On Thursday, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani ordered inspections at roughly 100 sites across the city connected to companies involved in the construction project.

‘If there is anyone, or any entity, operating in this city that bears responsibility for what happened, we will hold them fully accountable,’ Mamdani said at a news conference Thursday afternoon.

Mamdani said 18 people—14 civilians and four firefighters—were injured in the disaster.

Most remained hospitalized in stable condition, although one person was reported to be in critical condition.

Built in the 1930s, the collapsed structure was a mixed-use building with apartments on its upper floors and a ground-floor business. It stood along the edge of a lot where a one-story building had been demolished for a new project.

Ahmed Tigani, commissioner of the New York City Department of Buildings, said workers were excavating the vacant lot next door when the collapse occurred.

City officials said inspectors issued a stop-work order in March after finding that the neighboring building was being demolished without sufficient overhead protection, including netting designed to protect adjacent properties.

Inspectors determined in April that demolition had resumed despite the order.

The department said work was permitted to resume in May after the violations were addressed.

Mamdani said 18 people, including 14 civilians and four firefighters, were hurt in the collapse

A full stop-work order was issued for construction on the neighboring lot after Wednesday night’s collapse

First responders navigated a massive debris field as they searched for and rescued people trapped by the collapse.

Video showed firefighters pulling a pregnant woman from the rubble Wednesday before rushing her to an ambulance.

Building records cited by the AP show that the structure contained four apartments across its upper two floors and a commercial space on the ground floor.

Resident James Williams said he was inside his third-floor apartment when the building gave way.

‘All I know is I was with the wife and then we just heard some rumbling, the next thing you know, just open the door and happen to see the outside,’ Williams told 1010 WINS.

He said he then saw a bright light before first responders arrived to help him.

‘Everybody’s traumatized, we all are,’ Williams said. ‘Because one minute, we’re all just living our normal lives and the next minute, before our eyes, this just happened so suddenly.’ 

A person was seen being taken away on a stretcher after the Brooklyn building collapsed

The property had 98 open housing violations, including reports of bedbugs and leaks, according to CBS News.

New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said his office was ‘looking into disturbing things we heard about the property and the property owner who may have been negligent.’

He added that the landlord ‘may have been on our worst landlord watchlist, one of the years recently.’

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said his office was coordinating with the Department of Buildings and other law enforcement agencies to determine whether criminal conduct contributed to the collapse.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul called the collapse ‘horrific’ and said, ‘New Yorkers deserve to know how and why this happened.’

Allegations of sexual misconduct involving David Walliams have long been described as an “open secret” within sections of the entertainment industry.

Yet despite informal warnings about his alleged behaviour apparently circulating widely, well-known figures continued to socialise with him and appear on his podcast to promote their work as recently as last autumn, when concerns about his conduct began entering the public domain.

Several prominent guests featured on his podcast Making A Scene last year. Sir Elton John also holidayed with Walliams last summer, while the comedian appeared in the BBC’s festive edition of Would I Lie to You?

Natalie Cassidy, Alesha Dixon, Sally Dynevor, Michael Ball, David Schwimmer, Jack Whitehall, Prue Leith, David Baddiel and Rob Brydon were among the famous names to appear on the short-lived podcast, which Walliams hosted with Matt Lucas.

There is no suggestion that any of the stars named, most of whom have children and daughters of their own, were aware of the alleged misconduct.

At the time of publication, none had commented publicly on the allegations.

Although allegations of sexual misconduct against David Walliams had reportedly been regarded as an “open secret”, well-known figures continued to socialise with him and appear on his podcast to promote their work

Natalie Cassidy, Alesha Dixon, Sally Dynevor, Michael Ball, David Schwimmer, Jack Whitehall, Prue Leith, David Baddiel and Rob Brydon were among the guests on Walliams’s short-lived podcast Making A Scene with Matt Lucas

On Making A Scene, Walliams and Lucas invited guests to imagine their lives as “cinematic masterpieces” while discussing their stories in detail.

They considered who might portray them on screen, what genre their film would belong to and whether it would become a box-office success. In keeping with the pair’s style, the podcast also featured innuendo and dark humour.

The final episode was released in October 2025. The podcast’s social media accounts then fell silent, just weeks before it emerged that publisher HarperCollins had dropped Walliams as an author following misconduct claims.

The podcast’s Instagram account was deleted on Thursday.

Walliams also appeared in the 2025 Christmas special of Would I Lie To You?, alongside team captains Lee Mack and David Mitchell and fellow guests Jools Holland, Swarzy Shire and Helen George. During the programme, he made a Nazi salute twice; the BBC later edited the gestures out.

Walliams has been accused of abusing his position on Little Britain and Britain’s Got Talent (BGT), as well as engaging in “inappropriate and exploitative sexual activities” involving “a large number” of young women and girls. He denies any wrongdoing.

The allegations were reported publicly on Tuesday in a joint investigation by ITN and The Guardian.

Matt Lucas, 52, Walliams’s close friend and former Little Britain co-star, has continued to remain silent on the claims.

He stopped sharing his daily morning messages with social media followers on the same day that the High Court rejected Walliams’s application for an injunction to prevent publication of the allegations against him.

Lucas began posting his morning messages in February 2020, shortly before the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdowns that followed.

The Daily Mail contacted Lucas through his publicist for comment but did not receive a response.

The podcast’s final episode aired in October 2025 before its social media accounts went silent, shortly before reports that HarperCollins had dropped Walliams as an author following misconduct claims

Sir Elton John and his husband, David Furnish, who are long-standing friends of Walliams and among his most famous associates, have also not commented on the alleged misconduct.

The couple holidayed with the father-of-one in the South of France last summer. At the time, Walliams posted a video showing himself dancing around Furnish, who remained seated in a restaurant, as he moved to Whitney Houston’s 1987 hit I Wanna Dance With Somebody.

Other well-known friends, including Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon, have not issued public statements either.

Holden and Dixon sat alongside Walliams on the Britain’s Got Talent judging panel throughout his 10-year tenure. They were also pictured with an 18-year-old fan at a recording after she was invited by Walliams. Two weeks later, the woman accused him of attempting to kiss her after getting her drunk while he drank water.

BGT executives opened an investigation into Walliams’s behind-the-scenes conduct after learning that he had taken teenage girls into his dressing room. However, they reportedly found “no smoking gun” that would justify dismissing him.

At the time of publication, both Dixon and Holden were still following Walliams’s official Instagram account.

Comedian Kate Smurthwaite has said that Walliams’s name was repeatedly mentioned in a WhatsApp group for female comics as someone to avoid.

Speaking to BBC Newsnight, she said: “Walliams is a name that came up over and over and over again. In particular, there was a sense of concern about him working with young people and new acts, people coming onto the circuit who maybe weren’t as wise and experienced as the rest of us.

“It’s a name that’s been there from the get-go.”

Jonathan Ross is the only former friend of Walliams to have issued a statement so far. His comments followed the resurfacing of a 2004 British Comedy Awards video in which Ross told the audience: “The Comedy Awards is 15 years old – 15 years old! And like most 15-year-olds, it’s drunk, it’s unpredictable and it’s probably going home with David Walliams.”

Sir Elton John and his husband David Furnish, who have been friends with Walliams for many years, have not spoken publicly about the allegations against him

BGT launched an investigation into Walliams’s conduct after learning he had taken teenage girls into his dressing room, but reportedly found “no smoking gun” to justify dismissing him

Ross, 65, said he was “horrified” by the allegations. He added: “There was a time in my life when I was on friendly terms with both men [Walliams and Brand], and during that period I was genuinely unaware of their conduct.

“My thoughts are with the many, many women who have bravely come forward.”

While some people who know Walliams have not spoken publicly, others appear to have signalled their views more quietly, including Alan Carr.

Carr has not issued a public statement, but he “liked” a social media post by Lucy Beaumont, who identified herself as the whistleblower and said she had been “doing everything she can” to support one of Walliams’s alleged victims.

Carr, 50, also commented with five clapping emojis on a post discussing how a man in his sixties can legally have sex with a 16-year-old. Beaumont wrote: “He can’t legally buy her a drink and he can’t have a nude image of her. But he can sleep with her. And f*** her life up.”

In a statement, Walliams denied all the accusations and said: “I am not a sexual predator.”

He added: “Looking back, I realise that at times I behaved thoughtlessly towards other people I had casual sexual relationships with… I realise I did not always take people’s feelings properly into account. That is something I regret.

“And whilst a power imbalance is inevitable when one party is famous, abusing that power is something else entirely and it is something that I never did…

“I am not a sexual predator… I have not broken the law… I am devastated that some of the women I met ten to twenty years ago have now expressed hurt or anger towards me.”