Original from:WSJ
Compiled by | Odaily Planet Daily (@OdailyChina)
Translator | Wenser(@wenser2010)
Editor's Note: Controversies surrounding OpenAI and Sam Altman have never ceased. Some see him as a leader in AGI, the soul who guides tech elites to challenge and explore the frontiers of AI, even calling him the 'Father of AI'; others consider him an outright villain, often citing evidence such as OpenAI's transition from a non-profit to a commercial company, his faction-building and elimination of dissidents within the OpenAI board. However, in terms of personal wealth, Altman is not as conspicuous as global richest Elon Musk, yet he has meticulously constructed his own 'wealth closed loop' in his own way, leveraging his position as OpenAI CEO, earning him the title of 'Master of Modern AI Wealth Alchemy'.
This issue, Odaily Planet Daily will combine a recent investigation by The Wall Street Journal to unveil the mystery of 'Sam Altman's Personal Alchemy' for our readers. The following is the main text, with some edits for clarity, Enjoy~
Altman's 'Personal Wealth Network': A Private Equity Wealth Group Built Around OpenAI
Most of Sam Altman's personal wealth is dispersed across a vast network of tech companies, including high-tech firms like the nuclear fusion company Helion, and even a startup dedicated to building a new city along the Mediterranean coast.
It is evident that many of these companies have already established various business partnerships with OpenAI, forming an intricate web of investment interests. Amid OpenAI's preparation for an IPO and intense scrutiny from all sides, last month, the U.S. House Oversight Committee launched an investigation into Altman's potential conflicts of interest, and several state attorneys general have called for the U.S. SEC to intervene.
Notably, he does not directly hold equity in OpenAI (latest valuation $852 billion), which signifies a rare phenomenon—his personal interests are not directly tied to the company he helms. Against this backdrop, The Wall Street Journal compiled dozens of his investments and analyzed the impact of some deals on his personal wealth.
Altman's 'Investment List': About 400 Projects, At Least 10 Have Partnerships or Potential Engagement with OpenAI
Three years ago (around 2023), at a public event, Altman personally stated that he had participated in investments in about 400 startup companies that were still active in the market. Based on public records and investigative reports, The Wall Street Journal filtered out over 80 of these investment projects, many of which can be traced back to his tenure as head of the venture capital firm Y Combinator.
These investments are largely concentrated in areas highly relevant to the AI wave, including software, biotech, and energy.
Among the companies he personally invested in, at least 10 have established commercial partnerships with OpenAI or have recently engaged in talks about doing so.
After Altman's personal investments, OpenAI established research collaborations with at least two biotech companies.
According to evidence presented in last month's trial of Musk v. OpenAI, Altman's stake in one of these companies—the anti-aging startup Retro Biosciences—was already worth $258 million as of last December.
Additionally, the chip manufacturer Cerebras, which achieved its IPO under the banner of being 'the next Nvidia,' received investment from Altman nearly a decade ago. A key factor driving its IPO was a recent chip procurement agreement with OpenAI. After Cerebras' IPO, the value of Altman's corresponding shares increased more than sixfold compared to their value in December last year.
Conventionally, CEOs of public companies are typically cautioned by their boards against 'holding substantial stakes in external companies.' The reason is that this creates an entangling of interests, potentially prompting them to facilitate deals favorable to their stake-holding companies or exposing them to accusations of 'self-dealing.'
But OpenAI board chairman Bret Taylor stated that Altman has consistently been highly transparent in disclosing his involvement with other entities, and OpenAI has carefully managed potential conflicts of interest.
Altman's 'Energy Play' Masterpiece: Made $4.1 Billion from Nuclear Fusion Startup Helion
When it comes to the largest investment project Altman has participated in, the nuclear fusion startup Helion is a notable one.
He first began investing in this company during his tenure as president of Y Combinator. The company claims to be close to achieving commercial power generation but does not publicly share its research results, making its claims difficult to independently verify.
On the other hand, the cooperation between OpenAI and Helion, which Altman vigorously promoted, also sparked significant controversy within the company.
The following is the over-a-decade-long 'entanglement of interests' between Altman and Helion—
2015, Altman invested in Helion and became its board chairman. That same year, he co-founded OpenAI.
2021, Altman made additional investments in Helion while leading OpenAI. That year, he invested a staggering $375 million, marking his then-largest-ever personal investment in a single startup.
2024, OpenAI signed a non-binding agreement to potentially purchase power from Helion in the future. During the OpenAI vs. Musk trial, former OpenAI board member Shivon Zilis (Odaily Planet Daily Note: mother of four of Musk's children) testified, saying this deal was 'surprising' because nuclear fusion was still a 'speculative technology' (Odaily Planet Daily: almost writing 'these projects are scams' on their foreheads).
2025, Japanese investment firm SoftBank invested in OpenAI. Altman subsequently lobbied SoftBank to invest in Helion, and SoftBank complied. Months later, according to The Wall Street Journal, Altman urged OpenAI to invest approximately $500 million in Helion, which left some OpenAI employees puzzled and uneasy. Ultimately, OpenAI declined the investment proposal at the company level.
2026, OpenAI still signed a revised agreement with Helion in March of this year; the same month, citing future collaboration with OpenAI, Altman resigned as chairman of Helion's board. OpenAI stated publicly that 'the board determined the agreement is in the company's best interests,' without indicating any impropriety.
2026, June, Helion announced a new round of financing at a $15.5 billion valuation, led by OpenAI strategic investor Thrive Capital. According to people familiar with the matter, Altman's stake in Helion at least doubled in value as a result, now worth at least $4.1 billion.
Finally, the developer behind the well-known Worldcoin, Tools for Humanity, the iris-scanning company co-founded by OpenAI CEO Altman once valued at $2.5 billion, recently returned to the spotlight due to internal investigation scandals.
According to Business Insider, against a backdrop of crashing cryptocurrency prices, global regulatory crackdowns, and business contraction layoffs, the company simultaneously launched two investigations led by external law firms, one focusing on alleged misuse of funds by executives and the other on potential regulatory violations in its Thailand operations.
Previously, OpenAI has faced criticism for its trillion-dollar contracts with major cloud and chip manufacturers, including a $500 billion partnership with chip giant Nvidia, a $300 billion agreement with AMD, a $300 billion deal with cloud service provider Oracle, and a transaction exceeding $22 billion with data center group CoreWeave.
According to Forbes Billionaires List data, Sam Altman currently ranks 1251st on the global rich list, with a personal net worth of around $3.4 billion. Furthermore, he has investments in well-known tech companies like Stripe and Reddit. In April 2024, Altman's rank on this list was only 2692nd; two years later, his personal net worth ranking has risen by over 1400 places. It's worth noting that this list reflects the wealth rankings of over 8 billion people worldwide.
