Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's Relentless Work Ethic: The Price of Leading a $4.2 Trillion AI Giant

Nvidia CEO's always-on 7-day grind is going viral -- he can't even sit through a movie without thinking about his $4.2 trillion tech giant

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang might be the hardest-working executive in the world. After all, his $4.2 trillion tech company now tops the list of the most valuable companies (for context, Meta and Amazon combined's valuation is $4.1 trillion). However, leading his company to greatness has meant that work-life balance has had to take a major backseat; in fact, for Huang, every waking moment is dedicated to work. "I work from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to sleep. I work seven days a week," Huang said in an interview with Stripe's CEO Patrick Collison last year, that's currently going viral once again. "When I'm not working, I'm thinking about working... I sit through movies, but I don't remember them because I'm thinking about work." While it may sound hardcore, Huang's leadership has helped Nvidia's stock become one of the hottest commodities -- with the share price skyrocketing 1,600% in the last five years. But not all his hours on the clock are answering emails or sitting through meetings; the 62-year-old often spends his time as a leader envisioning the future. "Sometimes you're imagining the future. And, boy, if we did this and that. It's working, you're fantasizing, you're dreaming," he said. One of his biggest dreams is that every part of his company will use AI aggressively -- which will not only help scale the business to even greater heights but also give him and his workers some added flexibility. "I want to turn NVIDIA into a one giant AI," Jensen said to Collison. "How great would that be? And then I'll have work-life balance." According to accounts from multiple former employees, there were expectations to be on the work grind seven days a week -- with work piling up until one or two in the morning, Bloomberg reports. Other workers, especially in the engineering department, had even longer work hours. And in meetings, the pressure would often get so high that shouting matches would reportedly occur, according to Bloomberg. However, with high pay packages at the growing company, the anonymous workers said they felt it difficult to leave. Huang himself has admitted that he's not the easiest boss to have. In a 60 Minutes interview last year, he said that working at Nvidia shouldn't come with the expectation of ease. "If you want to do extraordinary things, it shouldn't be easy," he said. Having to forgo work-life balance in exchange for scaling a business is not something that's exclusive to the tech industry -- leaders of all industries have admitted that working as much as possible will translate to results. Lior Lewensztain, founder and CEO of fruit bar and snack company, That's It Nutrition, previously told Fortune that work-life balance remains an elusive perk -- even after building a multi-million-dollar business. "Even if I am on vacation, you're on 24 hours a day. You never can really leave," said Lewensztain. And it's something even world leaders like former President Barack Obama have echoed: "If you want to be excellent at anything -- sports, music, business, politics -- there's going to be times of your life when you're out of balance, where you're just working and you're single-minded," he said on The Pivot Podcast. When searching for a career, billionaire cofounder of Scale AI Lucy Gao, encourages Gen Z to pick one that doesn't make you crave time off. "I would say that if you feel the need for work-life balance, maybe you're not in the right work," she told Fortune.

No days off: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says he works from wake to sleep, even during movies

Jensen Huang leads Nvidia, now valued higher than Meta and Amazon. He admits to working constantly, even during leisure. Nvidia's stock has seen massive growth under his leadership. Employees also face a demanding work culture. Huang envisions Nvidia as an AI-powered entity. Some argue that achieving excellence requires sacrificing work-life balance. Other industry leaders share similar experiences. Jensen Huang is the CEO of Nvidia, the most valuable company in the world. Nvidia is worth around $4.2 trillion, which is more than Meta and Amazon combined ($4.1 trillion). Jensen says his work-life balance doesn't exist, as per the reports. He works every day, from the moment he wakes up till the time he sleeps. He even works on weekends, with no days off. He said, "When I'm not working, I'm thinking about working." Even while watching movies, he's thinking about work and doesn't remember the film, according to the report by Fortune. Nvidia stock has jumped 1,600% in the last 5 years. It has become one of the hottest stocks in the world. Jensen doesn't spend all his time in emails or meetings -- he often imagines the future of the company. He says part of his work is dreaming and fantasizing about what's next, as stated by the reports. ALSO READ: Scorching heat alert! These counties are under advisory -- is your area bracing for the sizzle? Jensen wants every part of Nvidia to be powered by AI. His goal is to transform Nvidia into a "one giant AI" company. He believes if this happens, he might finally get some work-life balance. He said, "How great would that be? And then I'll have work-life balance", as per the report by Fortune. It's not just Jensen -- employees also work super hard. Former employees say the 7-days-a-week grind is common at Nvidia. Some employees worked until 1 or 2 in the morning because of heavy workload, according to the report by Bloomberg. Engineers had even longer working hours, according to reports. Some meetings got so intense, shouting matches would happen. Many employees didn't want to leave, because they got high salary packages, according to the Fortune report. Jensen has admitted he's not an easy boss. He said, "If you want to do extraordinary things, it shouldn't be easy." Nvidia did not comment when Fortune asked about this work culture. Working all the time isn't just in tech -- other industries are the same. Lior Lewensztain, CEO of snack brand "That's It Nutrition," says he's working 24/7 even on vacations. He said, "Even if I am on vacation, you're on 24 hours a day", as per the Fortune report. ALSO READ: Ethereum ETFs are exploding! $296 million inflows as Bitcoin bleeds $131 million in just one day Former President Barack Obama said that being excellent in anything means your life will be unbalanced at times. He said this is true in sports, music, business, or politics, as per The Pivot Podcast. Lucy Gao, billionaire cofounder of Scale AI, told Gen Z that if they need work-life balance, maybe they're not in the right job, according to the report by Fortune. Q1. How many hours does Jensen Huang work daily? He works all day -- from morning to night -- every day. Q2. What is Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's opinion on work-life balance? He says he has no balance and even works while watching movies.