Even before that, he admitted it to Jesse when refusing to sell out. He says that he dumped Gretchen, sold his share of his startup for pennies, and now his wife hates him, and his son ignores him.

The only thing he had left to show he was a genius was his meth, and the only family he had left was Jesse which is why he didn’t want either of them going away even if it means tens of millions of dollars.