How much is David Velez Worth? David Velez Net Worth in 2026
David Vélez’s net worth is estimated at $11 billion as of November 2026. Three share sales have turned about $1 billion of his Nubank stock into cash, and they averaged $11.58 a share. On November 2, 2026, the stock closed at $11.62, so three years of careful selling landed within four cents of today’s price.
| Net worth | $11 billion (our estimate, range $9 billion to $13 billion) |
|---|---|
| Born | 1981, Medellín, Colombia |
| Country | Colombia |
| Known for | Founder, chairman and CEO of Nubank (Nu Holdings) |
| Main income sources | Nu Holdings shares, proceeds from share sales |
How much is David Vélez worth in 2026?
We put him at $11 billion. About 96 percent of that is one stock priced daily on the New York Stock Exchange, so this is one of the easier fortunes to check and one of the jumpiest to state. Public estimates disagree mostly because they were struck on different days: at the $13.20 he got in August 2025, the same shares would be worth $1.4 billion more. Some also count the stake as if he had never sold or given any of it away.
How David Velez built it
- Built in Brazil anyway. Sequoia shelved its Brazil plan after 2011, and in 2013 he co-founded Nubank in Sao Paulo.
- Started with one product. Nubank began with a single no-fee credit card run from a phone.
- Sold small slices on a schedule. Three August sales from 2023 to 2025 raised $1.03 billion while he kept voting control.
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Get the Alux appHow we got to $11 billion
| Source | Our estimate | What it rests on |
|---|---|---|
| Nu Holdings shares | $10.57 billion | About 910 million shares at the $11.62 close on November 2, 2026. The share count is our calculation from the August 2025 sale, shown below. |
| Cash from three share sales | $1.03 billion | $191 million in 2023, about $404 million in 2024 and $435.6 million in 2025, before tax. |
| Philanthropy, tax and spending | minus $0.62 billion | Our assumption: 60 percent of the $1.03 billion is gone. The 2023 sale was reported as funding his foundation, and he and his wife signed the Giving Pledge in 2021. No filing we opened gives the real split. |
| Total | $11 billion | The rows add up to $10.98 billion, rounded to $11 billion. |
We count the couple’s holdings together. The sale documents we saw described the seller as a holding company, Rua California Ltd, and we have not found a filing that splits the shares between him and his wife, Mariel Reyes Milk.
Working out the 910 million shares
When he sold 33 million Class A shares in August 2025, Seu Dinheiro reported, citing the SEC filing, that this was 3.5 percent of what he held. By our calculation, 33 million divided by 0.035 is about 943 million shares before the sale, which leaves about 910 million after it. Nu’s annual report for 2025 counts 3,833,072,934 Class A and 1,022,600,698 Class B shares at the end of that year, or 4.86 billion in all. That makes 910 million about 18.7 percent of the company, a little under the roughly 20 percent usually quoted.
It rests on a rounded percentage, which alone moves the answer by about 13 million shares either way, and on one assumption: that nothing has changed since August 2025. We found no report of a sale in August 2026, which would have broken a three-year habit, but we could not read the ownership table in the latest filing. If he did sell, the shares row shrinks and the cash row grows.
Selling every August
The pattern is regular enough to put on a calendar. Brazil Journal reported 25 million shares sold for $191 million in August 2023, then described as 3 percent of his position, to fund the VelezReyes+ foundation. Another 31 million went for about $404 million in August 2024. El Colombiano reported the 33 million in August 2025, at an average of $13.20, for $435.6 million. Nubank said that last one was purely estate planning.
Add them up and 89 million shares brought in $1.03 billion, or $11.58 each by our calculation. Timing did help on the most recent batch: selling at $13.20 instead of holding until today’s $11.62 left him about $52 million ahead on those 33 million shares.
He gave up very little control in the process. Brazil Journal put his voting power at 75 percent after the 2023 sale, because founders’ Class B shares carry extra votes. Our 910 million would be about 89 percent of all Class B shares, if they were all Class B.
$76 per customer
Nubank’s second-quarter report on August 13, 2026 showed $1.1 billion in net income, $5.9 billion in revenue and 139 million customers at the end of June. Divide the stake by the customers and every one of them carries about $76 of his fortune, by our math. The company itself closed at a $56.13 billion market value on November 2, up from about $45 billion on its first trading day in December 2021. Founded in São Paulo in 2013 with Cristina Junqueira and Edward Wible, it started with a single no-fee credit card run from a phone.
He got there from Sequoia Capital, which asked him to set up in Brazil in 2011 and then shelved the plan. In 2013 he started a bank in São Paulo anyway.
What would move the number
The stock, almost entirely. Each $1 on the share price moves him by about $910 million, so a move of $1.13 a share equals everything he has raised from all three sales, by our calculation. The next results are the obvious date to watch. Another sale would only swap shares for cash, unless the money goes to the foundation, in which case it leaves the ledger for good.
David Vélez net worth FAQ
How much did David Vélez make from selling Nubank shares?
About $1.03 billion before tax across three sales: $191 million in 2023, about $404 million in 2024 and $435.6 million in 2025. That is 89 million shares at an average of $11.58.
What percentage of Nubank does David Vélez own?
We calculate about 18.7 percent of all shares, or roughly 910 million out of 4.86 billion. His voting power was reported at 75 percent in 2023 because of Class B shares.
Why did David Vélez sell Nubank shares?
The 2023 sale was reported as funding the VelezReyes+ foundation, and Nubank said the 2025 sale was solely for estate planning.
Has David Vélez pledged to give his money away?
Yes. He and Mariel Reyes Milk signed the Giving Pledge in August 2021 and launched VelezReyes+ the following year.
How old is David Vélez?
He was born in 1981 in Medellín, which makes him about 45. He holds Colombian and Costa Rican citizenship, and he co-founded Nubank at 31 or 32.
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How we estimate net worth
Our estimates are based on public reporting, company valuations, and deal and earnings figures all compiled in an internal valuation model. They are approximate, and figures change over time as new information emerges.
Last updated: November 2026.