Sam Altman is the CEO of OpenAI, the developer of the popular chatbot ChatGPT.
In 2005, Sam Altman co-founded Loopt, a location-based social networking application. Despite attracting significant venture capital, the app did not achieve widespread success and was acquired by Green Dot Corporation in 2012 for $43 million.
Altman's next significant role was at Y Combinator, a well-known startup accelerator. Starting as a part-time partner in 2011, he eventually became the company's president in 2014. During his time at Y Combinator, he funded and mentored numerous startups, some of which have since grown into major tech companies.
In 2015, Altman co-founded OpenAI. Since 2019, he has served as the company's CEO.
As of early 2025, Sam Altman's net worth is estimated at $1.2 billion. While this is a considerable amount, Altman is far from the top of the global billionaire rankings, which are dominated by Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos.
Interestingly, Sam Altman's wealth is not tied to his salary or stake in OpenAI. Specifically, Altman stated that he does not own shares in OpenAI and receives minimal compensation for his role, which only covers essential expenses such as health insurance. Instead, his wealth largely stems from early investments in successful tech companies.