A recent court filing shows that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman holds assets worth over $2 billion across multiple companies with business ties to OpenAI. Currently, Altman is facing comprehensive scrutiny from Elon Musk, attorneys general from multiple U.S. states, and the U.S. Congress, accused of "self-dealing" and improper profit-making.

Although Altman has repeatedly stated that he does not directly hold shares in OpenAI, he has accumulated significant wealth through venture capital investments before and after joining OpenAI. The companies with business ties to OpenAI that were disclosed in the trial include:

  • Helion Energy: A nuclear fusion energy company, with Altman's stake valued at approximately $1.7 billion.

  • Stripe: A financial software giant, with Altman's stake valued at approximately $633 million.

  • Retro Biosciences: An anti-aging pharmaceutical company, with Altman's stake valued at approximately $258 million.

  • Other companies: Including chipmaker Cerebras, AI hardware vendor Humane, and Reddit (Altman sold his shares by the end of 2025).

Musk's lawyer pointed out in court that Altman had clear conflicts of interest when promoting collaborations between OpenAI and these companies. For example:

Energy collaboration: Altman endorsed OpenAI's partnership with Helion Energy. Although he claimed to have actively avoided key discussions involving these companies, he only stepped down from Helion's board when the two companies were discussing a larger-scale collaboration.

Computing power and content: The lawyer questioned OpenAI's $1 billion computing power deal with Cerebras, as well as the content collaboration negotiations with Reddit led by Altman.

Altman's actions have drawn high-level attention from the government. Attorneys general from ten U.S. states, including Florida and Montana, have written to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), demanding a strict review of OpenAI's conflict-of-interest prevention policies before its anticipated initial public offering (IPO). The U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has also requested Altman to submit relevant policy documents.

Altman has maintained in court that all collaboration processes were standard and thoroughly discussed, and that he followed routine corporate avoidance procedures. However, as OpenAI accelerates its transformation from a nonprofit organization into a commercial giant, the boundaries between the personal wealth of its core leader and company decisions are under unprecedented scrutiny.