Sam Altman’s 2023 salary revealed as OpenAI navigates AI boom

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman earned $76,001 in 2023, reflecting a modest increase from $73,546 a year earlier, according to the nonprofit’s latest tax filings. The trade-off aligns with Altman’s previous statements about only accepting the “minimum for health insurance.” Despite his estimated net worth of $2 billion, Altman has repeatedly stated that he has no shares in OpenAI, although Bloomberg reported on discussions about offering him a stake as the company contemplates a possible shift toward for-profit operations.

The disclosure comes as OpenAI continues to dominate headlines for its innovative AI products, including ChatGPT, and navigate internal turmoil, including Altman’s brief ouster in late 2023.

While Altman’s salary reflects his minimalist approach, other OpenAI executives earned considerably more. Co-founder and former chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, who played a central role in Altman’s temporary dismissal, earned $322,201 in 2023, making him one of the highest-paid officers listed in the filing.

Emmett Shear, Twitch co-founder and interim CEO during Altman’s ouster, received $3,720 for a brief term that ran from Nov. 19 to Nov. 29. Despite serving for approximately three days, the filing lists his compensation during the 10-day period as being $338.18 per day.

However, the tax returns do not include possible stock-based compensation, which could significantly increase the executives’ total earnings.

The nonprofit arm of OpenAI reported receiving $5 million in public contributions in 2023, although sources remain undisclosed. At the end of the year, OpenAI’s listed nonprofit net assets exceeded $21 million, a stark contrast to the $6.6 billion raised by its for-profit entities in October to boost AI development.

The nonprofit OpenAI also expanded its charitable initiatives, funding ethics and journalism scholarships at New York University and supporting research on AI-powered economic opportunities through Operation Hope, a nonprofit based in in Atlanta. Grants were also awarded to American universities, including Harvard and the University of Michigan, and to an East Asian institution.

The tax filing offers insight into OpenAI’s inner workings during a year that saw skyrocketing demand for its AI products and internal turmoil.