After weeks of denying allegations of extramarital affairs and fighting to keep his job as Nvidia’s chief executive, Jensen Huang unconditionally chose to compromise and give up late on Wednesday night. According to a person familiar with the matter, Huang’s usual decisive, commanding presence had vanished. During the gathering, he repeatedly said things such as “whatever” and “I don’t care.”
According to people who have spoken to Huang recently, his attitude has turned remorseful, and he has even berated himself as a “piece of shit”. Huang said he no longer cared what happened to him personally. His greatest concern now was his wife, and he did not want to ruin the lives of the women publicly linked to him in alleged affairs.
Bloomberg reporters were unable to reach Huang for comment.
Even if Huang wants to retreat from public view, however, he may find it difficult. He is expected to testify before Congress in the coming weeks, when lawmakers will question him about his relationship with Huang Le, an alleged Chinese intelligence operative, and whether it could have put trade secrets relating to Nvidia’s most advanced chips at risk of disclosure.
Trump: Huang deeply regrets scandal’s impact on his family
On Thursday, just hours after Huang stepped down following revelations of three extramarital affairs, US President Donald J. Trump told radio host Stephen A. Smith in an interview at the White House that Huang had called him and expressed deep remorse for the harm the scandal had caused his family.
“I spoke to him yesterday. He’s going through hell,” Trump added. “What he feels most badly about is his wife and family. That’s what he told me. He called me.”
Asked whether Huang should resign, Trump said the key question was whether Huang Le was a spy. But Trump predicted that Huang would eventually recover from the scandal: “I can tell you this — somehow he’ll end up on his feet.”
