Sam Altman rose to prominence as a key figure in the artificial intelligence trend during his time as chief executive officer of OpenAI.
However, his riches extend well past the startup responsible for ChatGPT.
Valued at a minimum of $2 billion by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the 38-year-old has his fortune assessed for the first time.
Excluding any ownership in OpenAI, which was recently appraised at $86 billion. Altman has consistently stated that he has no ownership stake in the company.
Instead, a significant portion of his identifiable riches lies in a network of VC funds and startup investments.
This fortune is poised to increase with Reddit’s upcoming initial public offering, as he is one of the major shareholders.
Altman traveled the world as an AI enthusiast, sharing his insights on the impact of technology on various aspects of life.
While OpenAI’s ChatGPT fueled a surge in the stock market, his reputation has been on the rise, with recent attention bringing both mystery and debate.
Elon Musk, one of the co-founders of OpenAI, filed a lawsuit against Altman and the startup on Thursday for allegedly prioritizing profit over benefiting humanity, going against its founding mission.
In late last year, Altman was unexpectedly removed from OpenAI following the board’s statement that he had not been “consistently candid in his communications” — however, he was reinstated a few days later.
Altman’s Uncertain Wealth: Private Company Investments
The origins of his fortune are quite unclear. Altman invests in a variety of privately held companies like Musk’s Neuralink, which do not reveal his exact ownership percentage and are not factored into Bloomberg’s wealth estimation.
Most of his identifiable wealth stems from a $1.2 billion investment in a series of venture capital funds under different names related to Hydrazine Capital, as per regulatory filings and Bloomberg estimates.
He possesses an extra $434 million in funds at Apollo Projects, which specializes in investing in ambitious projects, as stated on its website.
Some VC funds are part of the entities connected to Altman, who collectively own 8.7% of Reddit, the well-known message-board site that recently filed for an IPO.
According to a report from the Wall Street Journal on Friday, the offering could value the company at up to $6.5 billion.
This would result in a significant gain for the funds, with a stake more than twice the size of Reddit co-founder Steve Huffman’s.
Altman also invested a significant amount of money in two lesser-known startups. In 2021, he spearheaded a $500 million investment round in nuclear fusion company Helion Energy Inc. and also put $180 million into Retro Biosciences, a company focused on extending the average human lifespan by 10 years.
“It’s a lot,” Altman shared with the MIT Technology Review last year. “I essentially invested all my available cash into these two companies.”