OpenAI CEO Sam Altman earned $76,001 in compensation last year, slightly up from $73,546 in 2022.
Despite Sam Altman’s net worth exceeding $2 billion, Altman has stated he is paid only “the minimum for health insurance” and does not hold equity in OpenAI. However, Bloomberg has reported discussing offering him a stake as part of a potential shift to a for-profit model.
The filing, required annually for US-based nonprofits, reflects a year of significant events for OpenAI. The company started 2023 with ChatGPT’s massive success but ended with Altman briefly ousted after disagreements with the board.
OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever, who played a pivotal role in Altman’s ouster before leaving the company in May, received $322,201 in 2023, making him among the highest-paid officers. Emmett Shear, Twitch co-founder and interim CEO during Altman’s absence, earned $3,720 for his short tenure from November 19 to 29, equivalent to $338.18 per day.
The report excludes equity-based earnings, which could hold significant value given OpenAI’s soaring valuation. In 2023, the nonprofit secured $5 million in public contributions but did not disclose the sources. By the end of the year, the nonprofit’s net assets exceeded $21 million, a modest figure compared to the $6.6 billion OpenAI raised in October for AI development.
Last year, OpenAI broadened its philanthropic efforts beyond universal basic income projects linked to Altman. It funded ethics and journalism research at New York University, AI economic studies with Operation Hope, and experiments on creating democratic processes for governing AI behaviour.
Read: OpenAI Teases Future Innovations for ChatGPT in Reddit AMA
The grants supported institutions like Harvard College, the University of Washington, and an East Asian recipient. Despite limited financial transparency due to delayed reporting and complex partnerships, OpenAI’s nonprofit arm remains a critical component of its mission to advance AI responsibly.
