Super Micro Accounting Delay Limits CEO’s $6 Billion Decline

(Bloomberg) — Super Micro Computer Inc.’s 10K delay. wiped more than $800 million off chairman Charles Liang’s net worth on Wednesday, capping a wild ride that has seen his fortune tumble by nearly two-thirds from its peak in March.

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Shares of the San Jose, Calif.-based company fell 19 percent after it said it would delay filing its annual financial disclosures and would need additional time to assess its internal controls. This came a day after short seller Hindenburg Research released a report alleging “glaring accounting red flags, evidence of undisclosed related party transactions, sanctions and export control failures and customer issues”.

It marks a drastic change for Super Micro and Liang, whose wealth is almost entirely derived from his stake in the company. His fortune briefly topped $9 billion in March, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, when strong demand for his servers to run artificial intelligence applications drove the stock to a record high. Liang’s net worth fell to $3.5 billion on Wednesday, down 62 percent from his peak but still up $1.5 billion for the year.

Liang, 66, was born in Taiwan. He graduated with a degree in electrical engineering from the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology before coming to the US to study at the University of Texas at Arlington.

He started Super Micro with his wife Sara Liu in 1993, initially manufacturing server boards. The strong growth followed the decision to focus on high-efficiency power systems and components. Revenue grew from $1.2 billion in 2013 to $7.1 billion for fiscal 2023.

(Updates with closing figures, adds Liang’s wealth chart)

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