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'Quite arrogant', family man persona an act: Jensen Huang's biographer after Nvidia CEO's exit
Jensen Huang's biographer claimed the former Nvidia CEO was ‘quite arrogant’ and opined that he went to great lengths to show himself a family man.
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Jensen Huang's biographer Stephen Witt has claimed that the former Nvidia CEO was 'quite arrogant'. He further alleged that Huang went to great lengths to portray himself as a family man, and called it an act.
These claims were made in an opinion written for New York Times amid Huang stepping down as reports of three affairs came to light. Of that, two were allegedly with Nvidia employees, while the other was with Alice Huang, who's been accused of being a Chinese spy.
Witt wrote The Thinking Machine, the biography on Huang.
Jensen Huang 'quite arrogant', says biographer
Deep Dive
Witt claimed that Huang went to “considerable lengths” to hide his arrogance. He recalled meeting the Nvidia CEO in 2023, adding that he and his handlers were pushing the idea of Huang being humble, at the time.
The biographer also recalled how Huang would always deflect attention away from his successes. He reportedly preferred to give credit to his employees as well as executive staff members. Huang also reportedly liked to glad-hand service people.
Huang had started off as a dishwasher at Denny's and Witt noted that this was something the Nvidia CEO would “never let you forget.” Huang had ended up dreaming up Nvidia in a Denny's booth as well. Witt also shared how Huang loved to visit small, hole-in-the-wall restaurants and left extravagant tips. He recalled meeting Huang for breakfast at Denny's and the then-CEO had tipped the waitress $1,000 in hundred-dollar bills.
Also Read | Some Nvidia employees want Jensen Huang back as CEO, believe ‘everyone makes mistakes’: Report
“He didn’t make a show of it, either. I had to track her down to ask,” the biographer recalled. However, he began to suspect over time that this show of humility was an act. Witt further alleged that this was done to “flatter” Huang himself. He then added that Huang was “quite arrogant.”
As per Witt, Huang had little tolerance for disagreement and almost no capacity for open discourse. When one would contradict him, even in trivial matters, it was like “lighting a fuse,” Witt described. If one stuck to their guns, there was a high likelihood of Huang exploding and screaming at them for their alleged idiocy. “A harangue from Mr. Huang could last an hour or more; his executive staff appeared genuinely afraid of him,” Witt noted.
Biographer claims Huang's family man persona was an act
Witt further claimed that Huang tried to show himself as a family man, but called it an act. “Here, the act was harder to detect and must have involved a great deal of self-deception. He spoke of his wife, Lori, and his kids, Madison and Spencer, all the time,” Witt wrote.
He noted how Huang often traveled with his family around the world, and encouraged his kids to leave careers in unrelated fields to join him in Nvidia. Many weeks ago, Huang even gave away his daughter Madison who married Nico Caprez, another Nvidia executive.
However, Huang's affair with Nvidia executive Kimerly Powell was reportedly common knowledge in the company where his children worked. “It’s a stunning and disrespectful display of arrogance,” Witt wrote. He claimed to have spoken to a former employee who said that the affair had been common knowledge and added that this sort of behavior from Huang got him a narcissist's high.
