NEW YORK (AP) — The Giving Pledge announced Tuesday that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has joined a growing list of wealthy philanthropists who have committed to giving away more than half their fortunes.
The personnel changes come after a tumultuous six months for Altman, the venture capitalist and co-founder of the San Francisco company that developed ChatGPT, who Forbes says has amassed most of his $1 billion fortune through investments. His return after being fired as CEO last November stunned an industry that is rapidly commercializing as internal conflicts threatened to sink one of the most sought-after names in artificial intelligence.
Altman, who originally founded the company as a non-profit lab dedicated to safely building AI for the benefit of humanity, now says he wants to focus his philanthropy on “technology that helps create wealth for people.”
“We have come this far thanks to the hard work, intelligence, generosity and dedication of so many of the people who built our society — our communities — to making the world a better place,” Altman wrote in a May 18 giving pledge along with her husband, tech investor Oliver Mulherin.
“All we can do is feel a huge sense of gratitude, give back and do what we can to help give it a little extra footing.”
The Associated Press and OpenAI have a licensing and technology agreement that gives OpenAI access to portions of the AP's text archive.
Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates and Warren Buffett founded The Giving Pledge in 2010 to foster a culture of philanthropy among the world's wealthy and address pressing problems. More than 240 signatories from 30 countries have pledged to donate the majority of their wealth to charity, but critics say there is little oversight to ensure community members are adhering to their pledges.
The newest members also include Mercuria CEO Marco Dunant and entrepreneur Susan Craig Dunant, who co-founded a Swiss foundation that aims to accelerate the transition to net-zero carbon emissions; Robert D. Goldfarb, a 94-year-old retired value investor who plans to give away 90% of his wealth over his lifetime; investor Jam Najafi and entrepreneur Cheryl Najafi, who have recently focused their giving on racial equality; technology investment capital firm president Hemant Taneja and real estate developer Jessica Shantz Taneja.
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Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits is supported by The Associated Press through a collaboration between The Conversation US and the Lilly Endowment Inc. with financial assistance from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. Follow all AP philanthropy coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.
James Pollard, The Associated Press
