OpenAI's Altman offers US government 5% stake, worth $320 per household

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has revived his long-standing proposal to share AI wealth with the public, now reportedly negotiating with President Trump to grant the US government a 5% equity stake in OpenAI. Based on the company’s March funding round valuation of $852 billion, that stake is worth roughly $42.6 billion. If distributed evenly across 133 million American households, each would net about $320. Altman first floated the concept in 2021, suggesting all large companies pay 2.5% of market value annually into a fund for public disbursements. The idea has broad political appeal — Senator Bernie Sanders has proposed giving Americans a 50% stake in top AI firms — but remains vague on execution.

The rationale is twofold: AI learns from human-created content without compensation, and a universal payout could cushion labor market disruption. However, skeptics note Altman has been discussing this for five years with little concrete progress. The real purpose may be to sway public opinion — a majority of Americans distrust AI companies and oppose data center construction. For OpenAI, staying in the Trump administration’s good graces could mean avoiding supply chain risks or gaining leverage against Chinese rivals. Yet the proposal functions more as a story than policy, signaling that the AI boom’s fruits are still up for debate.