OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to Donate His Wealth Through Giving Pledge

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and his husband, Oliver Mulherin, have become the newest billionaires to sign the Giving Pledge, a commitment encouraging the ultra-rich to donate their wealth to philanthropic causes.

In their letter released Tuesday, Altman and Mulherin credited "the hard work, brilliance, generosity, and dedication to improving the world of many people that built the scaffolding of society that let us get here."

"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," the pair added.

Bloomberg reports that Altman is worth at least $2 billion, with much of his wealth derived from startup investments, including a significant investment in Reddit.

Notably, he does not hold a stake in OpenAI, the leading artificial intelligence company.

The Giving Pledge was initiated in 2010 by billionaires Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda French Gates to encourage the world’s wealthiest individuals to commit to donating at least half of their fortunes to charity either during their lifetimes or in their wills.

While the pledge is not a legally binding contract, it represents a moral commitment intended to "inspire conversations, discussions, and action, not just about how much [to give] but also for what purposes and to what end," according to its website.

Currently, more than 245 couples and individuals from 30 countries have signed the pledge.

Earlier Tuesday, Melinda French Gates, one of the world’s most prominent philanthropists, announced a $1 billion donation through 2026 to advance women's rights globally via her organization, Pivotal Ventures.

She recently resigned from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation following her divorce from Bill Gates and received $12.5 billion from the foundation as part of the divorce settlement.