Back
OpenAI CEO received $76,001 in pay last year, filing shows
webCredibility Rating
3/5
Good(3)Good quality. Reputable source with community review or editorial standards, but less rigorous than peer-reviewed venues.
Rating inherited from publication venue: Fortune
Provides factual data on OpenAI leadership compensation during a pivotal year; relevant to understanding OpenAI's governance structure and the incentives of its key decision-makers as it transitions toward a for-profit model.
Metadata
Importance: 22/100news articlenews
Summary
A 2023 IRS tax filing reveals OpenAI CEO Sam Altman received only $76,001 in compensation, consistent with his stated policy of taking minimal pay. The filing also discloses compensation for other key figures during a turbulent year that included the ChatGPT boom and Altman's brief ouster from the company. Notably, the filing excludes equity-based compensation and does not reflect OpenAI's broader financial structure.
Key Points
- •Sam Altman received $76,001 in 2023 compensation, up slightly from $73,546 in 2022, consistent with his stated minimal salary policy.
- •Altman claims no equity in OpenAI, though the company has discussed granting him a stake amid its transition toward a for-profit structure.
- •Ilya Sutskever, who played a key role in firing Altman, was the highest-paid listed officer at $322,201 in 2023.
- •Interim CEO Emmett Shear received only $3,720 for his brief tenure during Altman's ouster in November 2023.
- •The tax filing does not capture equity-based compensation or VC investments in OpenAI's for-profit entities, limiting financial transparency.
Cited by 1 page
| Page | Type | Quality |
|---|---|---|
| Sam Altman | Person | 40.0 |
Cached Content Preview
HTTP 200Fetched Apr 7, 20269 KB
OpenAI CEO received $76,001 in pay last year, filing shows | Fortune Home
Latest
Fortune 500
Finance
Tech
Leadership
Lifestyle
Rankings
Multimedia
Tech OpenAI OpenAI CEO received $76,001 in pay last year, filing shows
By Biz Carson Biz Carson , Rachel Metz Rachel Metz , and Bloomberg Bloomberg Down Arrow Button Icon By Biz Carson Biz Carson , Rachel Metz Rachel Metz , and Bloomberg Bloomberg Down Arrow Button Icon November 20, 2024, 7:38 PM ET Add us on OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman received a modest $76,001 in compensation last year, up slightly from $73,546 in 2022, a newly released tax filing shows. David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman received a modest $76,001 in compensation last year, up slightly from $73,546 in 2022, a newly released tax filing shows.
Recommended Video
Altman, who is worth at least $2 billion , has previously said he gets paid “whatever the minimum for health insurance is.” He has also repeatedly said he does not own equity in OpenAI. However, the San Francisco-based artificial intelligence startup has discussed giving him a stake as part of a possible shift to becoming a for-profit business, Bloomberg reported .
Altman’s paycheck was included in a filing that US-based nonprofits are required to submit annually to the Internal Revenue Service. The 2023 disclosure covers a tumultuous period for OpenAI and the nonprofit that oversees it. The year started with the skyrocketing popularity of OpenAI’s chatbot ChatGPT and ended with Altman’s brief ouster after clashing with the board.
OpenAI’s co-founder and former chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, who played a key role in firing Altman and left the company in May , received $322,201 in 2023, making him one of the highest paid officers listed on the form. Emmett Shear, the co-founder of Twitch who served as interim CEO during Altman’s ouster, was paid $3,720, according to the filing. Though Shear’s tenure appeared to last for about three days, the filing said he was paid from Nov. 19 to Nov. 29, which would be $338.18 per day, including weekends.
The total compensation could be much higher for some executives, however. The tax filing does not include any equity-based compensation that OpenAI’s named officers may have received as the company’s valuation has soared. It also doesn’t disclose any outside investment from venture capitalists into OpenAI’s for-profit entities.
There is only limited visibility into OpenAI’s financials given the lag in reporting and the number of companies that are related to its business. The nonprofit lists several partnership companies and related entities, including Aestas LLC, which oversees employee and investor equity.
According to the filing, OpenAI’s nonprofit received $5 million in public contributions in 2023, but the source of the funding wasn’t disclosed. The nonprofit ended 2023 with net assets of more than $21 million — a tiny sum c
... (truncated, 9 KB total)Resource ID:
29e5d58fe306259d | Stable ID: sid_X3CfE2oRRQ