The AI race is likely one of the hottest enterprise wars this decade, with the market anticipated to be price $4.8 trillion by 2033. And OpenAI has been a frontrunner within the fierce battle, with ChatGPT amassing a staggering 800 million lively customers, in keeping with CEO Sam Altman.
It’s now on the cusp of changing into the world’s most precious firm, with talks to promote $6 billion in shares that may push its valuation to $500 billion—up from its $300 billion appraisal in March after a $40 billion infusion from backers like Microsoft and SoftBank. That leap would see OpenAI overtake Elon Musk’s SpaceX which presently tops all different non-public corporations at $350 billion.
Nevertheless, even when OpenAI pulls off the envy-worthy valuation, you in all probability gained’t catch Altman capturing up the billionaires checklist off the again of it. The CEO presently earns a wage of $76,001, up barely from $73,546 in 2022, for main the pioneering tech firm. The billionaire tech boss mentioned he makes “regardless of the minimal for medical insurance is,” in keeping with the New York Occasions—however extra surprisingly, owns zero fairness in OpenAI.
At one level he owned a “fairly insignificant” oblique stake within the firm by way of a Sequoia-backed VC fund related to Y Combinator. However an OpenAI spokesperson advised TechCrunch that the share was reportedly lower than a fraction of a p.c, and has already been offered for an undisclosed quantity.
Altman’s lack of fairness is kind of uncommon; most CEOs have some pores and skin within the recreation, standing to make huge wins or crushing losses relying on how they lead their corporations. However he has different tips up his sleeve to convey residence the bacon.
Fortune reached out to OpenAI for remark.
Atlman is a billionaire with a $76,001 wage—Right here’s how he makes his fortune
Simply because Altman doesn’t personal part of OpenAI, doesn’t imply he’s residing paycheck-to-paycheck on his modest CEO wage. The 40-year-old tech entrepreneur presently boasts a internet price of $1.9 billion—starkly decrease than the CEO of the corporate he’s attempting to outpace, as Musk sits on a $410 billion fortune. However he’s nonetheless amassed a large nest egg due to his numerous investments throughout a number of industries.
Altman is a serious backer of Helion Vitality, a nuclear fusion startup the place he poured in a $375 million private funding and presently sits as chairman. He’s supported biotech firm Retro Biosciences with a $180 million funding, and in addition participated in funding rounds for Musk’s brain-computer science firm Neuralink.
Other than the sciences, Altman was additionally an early backer of productiveness administration platform Asana and Reddit, serving as a board member of the platform till 2022. His stake in Reddit was estimated to be price $600 million after the platform’s IPO.
The OpenAI CEO additionally made a fortunate early infusion of $100,000 in Airbnb again in 2008 when the corporate was in its short-term rental infancy. Plus, there was his early $100,000 funding in Uber—and now, the enterprise is price $194 billion.
Altman additionally financially supported creator monetization platform Patreon, even placing his cash in direction of different AI-focused corporations together with $35 billion titan Humane.
After practically a decade of steering Y Combinator from 2011 to 2019, Altman acquired first hand perception into what will get funded, what crashes out, and what can truly scale. The millennial billionaire’s numerous portfolio of investments span transformational know-how, nuclear power, fintech, and social platforms. All of the holdings he managed as much as early 2024 had been estimated to be price at the very least $2.8 billion, in keeping with reporting from the Wall Road Journal. The OpenAI CEO mentioned his enterprise funds had invested in additional than 400 corporations, as of final 12 months.
