The 61-year-old, Jensen Huang worked at the diner-style restaurant chain for five years, from 1978 – 1983.
Jensen Huang, the CEO of Nvidia and the 12th richest person in the world according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index, has captivated the internet with his humble beginnings. Under Huang’s leadership, Nvidia recently became the world’s most valuable public company, driven by a surge in artificial intelligence applications. This remarkable achievement added over $4 billion to Huang’s net worth in just one day. Since early 2019, Nvidia’s stock has skyrocketed by 3,776%, fueled by the company’s dominance in AI chip production. Despite his monumental success, Huang’s LinkedIn profile reveals his journey from modest roots.
Before founding Nvidia, Huang worked as a dishwasher, busboy, and waiter at Denny’s from 1978 to 1983. It was in a booth at this very Denny’s, where he once cleared tables and cleaned toilets, that the concept for Nvidia was born. Huang has frequently cited his early experiences as instrumental in shaping his leadership style, emphasizing that no task is beneath him.
In a March interview at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, Huang reflected on his time at Denny’s: “To me, no task is beneath me because, remember, I used to be a dishwasher. I used to clean toilets. I cleaned a lot of toilets. I’ve cleaned more toilets than all of you combined.” He shared that this work ethic has given him a profound respect for all types of work, stating that he is “not afraid to get his hands dirty.”
Huang added, “If you send me something and you want my input on it and I can be of service to you—and, in my review of it, share with you how I reasoned through it—I’ve made a contribution to you.”
