The AI trailblazer plans to donate to technology that creates abundance for more people
Sam Altman, the co-founder and CEO of OpenAI, has announced his commitment to The Giving Pledge, aligning with other billionaires to donate his wealth for philanthropic purposes.
Established by Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and Melinda Gates, The Giving Pledge urges the world’s billionaires to publicly commit a majority of their wealth to help solve society’s most pressing problems. The pledge is not legally binding and does not specify how much or when the donations should be made. It encourages billionaires to use their wealth to improve human welfare, with the freedom to choose whether to donate during their lifetime or posthumously and in which fields to apply their donations.
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In 2022, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos joined the initiative, publicly pledging to donate a significant portion of his US$124 billion fortune to support organizations addressing climate change and other charitable causes. Melinda Gates also pledged to donate US$1 billion within two years and has already made substantial contributions to global women’s rights organisations, according to reports from The New York Times.
Besides Altman and his husband, Oliver Mulherin, other philanthropists who signed up for the pledge this year include Mercuria CEO Marco Dunand and entrepreneur Suzan Craig Dunand, co-founders of the non-profit Villars Institute; retired value investor Robert D. Goldfarb; and investor Jahm Najafi and entrepreneur Cheryl Najafi.
According to estimates by Forbes and other media, Altman’s net worth is at least US$2 billion, meaning he could donate over US$1 billion to charitable causes in the future.
Altman and Mulherin shared the following in their pledge letter to The Giving Pledge: “We would not be making this pledge if it weren’t for the hard work, brilliance, generosity, and dedication to improve the world of many people that built the scaffolding of society that let us get here. There is nothing we can do except feel immense gratitude and commit to pay it forward, and do what we can to build the scaffolding up a little higher.” The pair plan to donate their wealth to “supporting technology that helps create abundance for people”.