Owed a billion dollars in Nvidia stock (colo.to)

Article summary

The author, an early advisor to NVIDIA, discovered that they may be owed around $1 billion in NVIDIA stock due to a potential mistake in their stock option agreement. The agreement, granted in 1993, had a vesting schedule that the author claims was misinterpreted by NVIDIA, resulting in them not receiving the full amount of shares they were entitled to. The author's claim is complicated by the fact that they did not pursue the matter for over 30 years, which may bar their claim due to the statute of limitations. The author is now sharing their story as a cautionary tale.

Main themes

• stock option agreements
• vesting schedules
• statute of limitations
• contract interpretation
• NVIDIA history
• early days of 3D graphics

What commenters say

• The author's claim is unlikely to succeed due to the statute of limitations, which bars claims after a certain period of time has passed.
• The author's failure to exercise all of their options and their subsequent lack of action for over 30 years means they forfeited their right to the remaining shares.
• The contract's mutually inconsistent clauses regarding the vesting schedule are a key point of contention in the author's claim.
• The fact that both parties agreed on the non-owning interpretation for nearly 30 years may be seen as a simpler contract resolution.
• The author's decision not to pursue a lawsuit after being advised that it would likely be dismissed is seen as a pragmatic choice.
• Some commenters argue that the author's claim is not valid because they did not own the stock in question, but rather had options that they did not exercise.
• The discussion highlights the importance of carefully reviewing contracts and understanding the terms and conditions of stock option agreements.