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OpenAI’s Sam Altman Pledges To Donate Chunk Of Wealth to Charity

By Nithya Bose in Business News, posted May 30, 2024

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and his husband, Oliver Mulherin, have signed the Giving Pledge, joining the ranks of billionaires committing to philanthropy.

This initiative encourages the ultra-wealthy to donate a significant portion of their wealth to charitable causes.

In their pledge letter, Altman and Mulherin credited “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.”

They added: “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.”

Bloomberg estimates Altman's net worth to be over $2 billion.

This is largely from his startup investments, including a notable stake in Reddit.

“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”

Interestingly, Altman holds no equity in OpenAI, the leading artificial intelligence company he heads.

The Giving Pledge was established in 2010 by billionaires Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, and Melinda French Gates.

Its mission is to encourage the world’s wealthiest individuals to pledge at least half of their fortunes to charitable causes.

This is either during their lifetimes or through their wills.

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The pledge is not legally binding.

However, it represents a significant moral commitment to sparking conversations and actions around impactful giving.

Over 245 people and couples from 30 countries have signed the Giving Pledge.

On the same day, Melinda French Gates, one of the world’s leading philanthropists, announced a $1 billion donation through her organization, Pivotal Ventures, to support women's rights globally.

This donation is part of her ongoing efforts to promote gender equality.

It follows her recent departure from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

As part of her divorce settlement from Bill Gates, she received $12.5 billion for her philanthropic work upon her resignation from the foundation.

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