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Biographer Witt revealed that Huang was arrogant and abusive in private, and involved in affairs and chip transfer controversies. Although he successfully befriended Trump, political conflicts and personal scandals led to their falling out.
NVIDIAHuida (also known as NVIDIA) CEOJen-Hsun Huang Biographer Witte resigned because of extramarital affairs. On the 12th, biographer Witt published a letter exposing the duplicity. He said that on the surface Huang Jen-hsun is friendly towards people and loves his family, but in private he often behaves like a dictator and scolds senior officials for hours at a time. Now he is defeated not by technological changes but by ego and politics.
Technology journalist Stephen Witt, who published “The Thinking Machine” last year, contributed to the book.new York Times (The New York Times) Analyzes the inside story of Jen-Hsun Huang’s fall.
He noted that Huang Renxun’s affair partner, Alice Huang, once ran a Singapore company that owned data centers in Southeast Asia. These data centers are suspected of helping Chinese AI developers circumvent US sales restrictions on HUDA devices. There are also reports that these centers have become transshipment stations for Huida chips, which are illegally smuggling devices worth about US$7 billion into China. “It’s hard to believe that Huang Renxun had no knowledge.”
Vitter also revealed that Huang was also rumored to be having an affair with his direct subordinate, Kimberly Powell. According to former Huida employees, this extramarital affair was well known within the company, and two of Huang’s sons and daughters are supervisors at Huida. This behavior shows shocking and insulting arrogance.
Now that the “code of silence” within HUIDA has ended, Witt said: “I would not be surprised at all if more women came forward to reveal this news.”
Witt said that Huang made every effort to hide his arrogance. When he first met Huang Renxun in 2023, Huang Renxun in conversation always attributed his achievements to employees and senior managers, and also liked to interact with people in the service industry; He never let people forget that he worked as a dishwasher, and he also liked to patronize humble small restaurants and leave large tips.
Over time, Werther began to suspect that it was a show, not for others to see, but to satisfy his own vanity.
He bluntly said that Huang Renxun is actually quite arrogant, does not tolerate disagreement and does not have the generosity to have open discussions. As long as he refutes it, even small things are like lighting a fuse. If he insists on his opinion, he will soon get angry and scold the other party for being foolish. The scolding often lasts for an hour. It seems that senior managers are afraid of him from the bottom of their hearts.
In addition, Huang Renxun also strives to create the image of a good family man. Witt wrote that Huang met his wife, Lori Huang, at the age of 17. Lori Huang was his first love, and the two entered the auditorium at the age of 20. In order to pursue Huang Renxun’s entrepreneurial dream, Luo Li left the workplace to focus on raising children. Huang Renxun often mentioned her sacrifice. Even the friends around her praised the two as a perfect couple, but now he has “completely cheated on her.”
As for the relationship between government and business in Washington, Vitter frankly said that he was quite surprised that Huang became a close ally of US President Trump in 2025, because Huang had no interest in politics in the past, had limited connections in Washington, and did not attend Trump’s inauguration; But he soon showed superb social skills and won Trump’s trust through flattery. Until the White House technology summit in September this year, Huang sat at Trump’s right hand.
Witt wrote that Trump and Huang Jen-hsun had many things in common, including a tendency to talk big, narcissism, and “I think even lust”, but what really brought Huang Jen-hsun down was politics.
Huang’s efforts to persuade Trump to lift restrictions on Huida chip exports to China put him at odds with hawkish members of Trump’s team, particularly Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Rubio was banned from entering the country for his sharp criticism of China, and Rubio led the review of the memo that exposed the Huang Jen-hsun scandal.
Now Huida must find a successor, which Vitter believes will not be easy because Huang Renxun has never named a successor and does not have a second-in-command. Replacing Chief Financial Officer Colette Cress is not a long-term solution for Huida. He pointed out that whoever takes over must be a world-class computer scientist who can not only finalize business with powerful customers but also scold Taiwan if chip shipments are delayed.
Witt described, “Huida without Jen-Hsun Huang is like the Bulls without Michael Jordan.” Huang Jen-hsun created Huida from scratch, but in the end because of arrogance and self-aggrandizement, he left a void that no one would be able to fill.
Summary FAQ
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Witte believes that Huang Renxun is friendly towards people, loves his family and is enthusiastic, but in private he often scolds senior management like a dictator, is extremely impatient with disagreements, and often scolds for an hour at a time, which makes supervisors fearful.
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The article reported that his affair partner was suspected to have links to a Singapore data centre. These centers were accused of helping circumvent US export restrictions and even became Huida chip transfer stations. Approximately US$7 billion worth of equipment was suspected of being illegally smuggled into China.
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Witte believes that Jen-Hsun Huang was not defeated by technological changes, but destroyed by arrogance, conceit, and political wrangling. Although he was successful in winning Trump’s trust, he clashed with hardliners and ultimately backfired due to politics and scandal.
