OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's salary for 2023 was just $76,000
Sam Altman, the CEO of artificial intelligence research lab OpenAI, took home a meager $76,001 in 2023. The figure was disclosed in a recent tax filing to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) under non-profit disclosure requirements. It is marginally higher than his 2022 earnings of $73,546. Although his net worth is estimated to be around $2 billion, Altman has always maintained he only takes the minimum salary for health insurance and doesn't own equity in OpenAI.
OpenAI's financial landscape in 2023
The tax filing also shed light on OpenAI's finances in a year of major developments. From ChatGPT's meteoric rise that put OpenAI on the world map to Altman's ouster over boardroom disputes, it was quite a year. The document also revealed pay for other prominent OpenAI executives. Co-founder and ex-chief scientist Ilya Sutskever was paid $322,201 in 2023 while interim CEO Emmett Shear earned $3,720 during his short stint.
Non-profit arm reported $5 million in public contributions
OpenAI's non-profit arm reported $5 million in public contributions in 2023, although the sources of this funding have not been disclosed. The organization ended the year with net assets worth $21 million. This is much smaller than the $6.6 billion OpenAI's for-profit arms raised in October to accelerate its AI development efforts. The tax filing doesn't include equity-based compensation or investment from VCs into its for-profit arms, leaving some of OpenAI's financial dynamics undisclosed.
OpenAI expanded its philanthropic efforts in 2023
Along with its AI research and development, OpenAI also expanded its philanthropic efforts last year. The non-profit arm supported universal basic income initiatives linked to Altman and funded grants for AI ethics and journalism at New York University. It partnered with non-profits like Operation Hope to explore AI-driven economic opportunities, and financed experiments in creating democratic frameworks for determining AI rules. These collaborations involved institutions such as Harvard, the University of Washington, and a university in East Asia.
