OpenAI CEO Sam Altman pledges to donate half of his wealth

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman

Billionaires across the world turn to philanthropy and donate part of their wealth to various charities and foundations. Joining those billionaires is OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. The Giving Pledge has revealed that Altman will donate half of his wealth. In a pledge posted on Giving Pledge website, Altman said that he and his husband Oliver Mulherin would not be making this pledge “if it weren’t for the hard work, brilliance, generosity, and dedication to improve the world of many people that built the scaffolding of society that let us get here.”

“There is nothing we can do except feel immense gratitude and commit to pay it forward, and do what we can to build the scaffolding up a little higher,” Altman noted.

The ChatGPT maker also said he also intends to “focus our giving on supporting technology that helps create abundance for people, so that they can then build the scaffolding even higher.”

While Altman heads OpenAI, he doesn’t hold any equity in the company. However, Altman has made investments in companies like Reddit and Stripe, among others. Altman was at loggerheads with the OpenAI board in 2023 and was sacked but after employee protests, he was reinstated as the CEO of OpenAI.

Altman has joined some of the illustrious names associated with philanthropy. The Giving Pledge was founded in 2010 by billionaire trio Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates, and Warren Buffett. The idea was to inspire the world's richest to donate most of their wealth to charity. Since the over 240 philanthropists from 30 countries have signed on. Some of the big names who have pledged to donate their wealth include Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Ellison, Elon Musk, and Reid Hoffmann.