In brief: Being the head of OpenAI, the company that essentially started the generative AI revolution, it's easy to imagine that Sam Altman's salary can be counted in the millions. Surprisingly, the CEO was paid just $76,001 in compensation in 2022, and that's with a 3.4% pay increase from the year before.
According to tax filings seen by Bloomberg that show the compensation OpenAI paid Altman and other execs, the CEO's salary went from $73,546 in 2022 to $76,001 in 2023. That's significantly less than co-founder and former chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, who took home the copmany's highest salary, $322,201, in 2023. He left OpenAI in May to start his own firm. Secretary/treasurer Chris Clark received the second-highest amount, $322,201.
The filing also revealed that Emmett Shear, who was CEO of OpenAI for around 72 hours during the brief time that Altman was ousted, was paid $3,720 from November 19 to November 29.
The filing does not include any equity-based compensation that some executives may have received.
Altman has spoken about his modest salary in the past. During a senate judiciary subcommittee in May 2023, the CEO said he gets "paid enough for health insurance" and that he receives no equity in OpenAI.
Highest-paid CEOs (aflcio.or)
| Company | CEO | Year | CEO Pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| TPG Inc. | Jon Winkelried | 2023 | $198,685,926 |
| Carlyle Group Inc. | Harvey Schwartz | 2023 | $186,994,098 |
| Broadcom Inc. | Hock Tan | 2023 | $161,826,161 |
| Palo Alto Networks Inc. | Nikesh Arora | 2023 | $151,425,203 |
| Coty Inc. | Sue Nabi | 2023 | $149,429,486 |
| Wheels Up Experience Inc. | George Mattson | 2023 | $148,978,853 |
| Blackstone Inc. | Stephen Schwarzman | 2023 | $119,784,375 |
| Charter Communications, Inc. | Christopher Winfrey | 2023 | $89,077,078 |
| Royalty Pharma PLC | Pablo Legorreta | 2023 | $84,837,077 |
| Endeavor Group Holdings, Inc. | Ariel Emanuel | 2023 | $83,879,505 |
| Applovin Corp. | Adam Foroughi | 2023 | $83,361,678 |
It was reported in September that OpenAI's board had discussed whether to award Altman with equity after the company announced it was switching from a nonprofit to a capped for-profit entity. Altman later told staff that were no plans for him to receive a "giant equity stake" in the company, which reached a valuation of $157 billion this year after raising $6.6 billion in capital. It was reported that Altman could receive a 7% stake in OpenAI, increasing his wealth by more than $10 billion.
However, it's not like Altman needs the money. Even without a stake in OpenAI, his personal wealth is estimated to be more than $2 billion, and he recently bought a mansion in San Francisco for $27 million.
Altman's fortune includes $1.2 billion worth of investments in various venture capital funds and elsewhere – his stake in Reddit alone is believed to be worth more than $1 billion.
In October, it was reported that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella had seen his compensation rise 63% to $79 million. His salary was actually cut by 50% to $5.2 million, while the rest of the money came in the form of stock awards.
