Former Tesla's largest retail shareholder Leo Ko Guan buys 1 million shares of NVIDIA, plans to "buy another double"

Former Tesla’s largest individual shareholder with a net worth of about $12.8 billion, billionaire Leo KoGuan, made a bold move during the market’s most turbulent moment—buying 1 million shares of NVIDIA (NVDA) on Tuesday for approximately $180 million, and revealing plans to add another million shares soon.
(Background: The short whale who previously targeted BTC has now shorted on-chain AI stocks worth $30 million.)
(Additional context: OpenAI completed a record-breaking $110 billion funding round—Amazon, Nvidia, and SoftBank teamed up, valuing the company at $840 billion.)

On Tuesday, amid a bloodbath in Asian markets and spreading panic, 71-year-old Leo KoGuan placed a $180 million buy order before the trading day ended.

According to Bloomberg, KoGuan bought exactly 1 million shares of NVIDIA at a closing price of $180.05, spending about $180 million (roughly NT$5.8 billion).

On Wednesday, he posted on X: “I firmly believe AI is not a bubble; this is just the beginning.” He added, “Planning to buy another 1 million shares of NVIDIA soon to support the tense market.”

I was all-in-Tesla; I am still mostly in Tesla + T-bills
I bought 1 million shares of NVDA last night; plan to buy more.
I am convinced AI is NOT a bubble, it is only the beginning.
AI is the heart of KQID time engine.
KQID is AGI.
KQID is Singularity.
— KoGuan Leo (@KoguanLeo) March 4, 2026

Who is Leo KoGuan?

Leo KoGuan (Liao Kaiyuan) became widely known in recent years for Tesla. He is an Indonesian-born Chinese, now based in Singapore, and co-founder of enterprise software company SHI International Corp., which reported revenue of about $14 billion in 2023. He started investing in stocks seriously only in 2019 but quickly rose to become Tesla’s third-largest individual shareholder (after Musk and Larry Ellison), making him one of the most watched retail whales in the market.

However, at the end of last year, he began gradually divesting his Tesla holdings, shifting to short-term U.S. Treasury bills for risk hedging, and warned on X: “I believe World War III has already begun; a 1929-style stock market crash is approaching.” His recent large purchase of NVIDIA is a public statement of his stance on AI.

According to Bloomberg Billionaires Index, KoGuan’s net worth is currently about $12.8 billion (around NT$416 billion).

Buying in at the height of market panic

KoGuan’s timing is interesting—NVIDIA’s stock has recently fallen sharply from its early-year highs amid escalating Middle East tensions and a broad sell-off in semiconductor stocks. The KOSPI in Korea experienced its largest two-day decline since 2008, and confidence in global AI-related stocks has been shaken.

Choosing to add to his position and publicly stating “planning to buy another 1 million shares” at this moment suggests a contrarian stance amid panic.

Of course, there are opposing views. SK Hynix’s chairman, a key NVIDIA supplier, publicly warned that if AI investments do not translate into real profits, the industry could burst like a gold rush bubble. The debate between “AI bubble theory” and “AI supercycle theory” remains unresolved.