OpenAI Co-Founder Reveals Company Stake Worth Nearly $30 Billion in Court Testimony
OAKLAND, Calif. — In a significant revelation during court proceedings on Monday, Greg Brockman, co-founder and president of OpenAI, disclosed that his stake in the company is valued at nearly $30 billion. This figure aligns with claims made by co-founder Elon Musk, who has asserted that OpenAI strayed from its original nonprofit mission.
Brockman took the witness stand on the fourth day of the trial, where Musk is pursuing legal action against Brockman and OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman. Musk accuses them of unlawfully transforming the charitable entity he helped establish into a for-profit organization, primarily recognized for its development of the widely used artificial intelligence application, ChatGPT.
Throughout his testimony, Brockman faced extensive inquiries aimed at reconciling his substantial stake with OpenAI’s professed goal of advancing AI technology for the greater good. He maintained that despite the board selling shares to external investors, the organization’s mission continued unchanged.
When Musk’s attorney, Stephen Moro, questioned Brockman about his wealth, asking if he was indeed “30 billion rich,” Brockman responded that financial gain was not his primary concern. “The reward was certainly secondary to the mission,” he testified, emphasizing the nonprofit’s larger purpose over personal financial benefits.
This trial carries the potential to redefine OpenAI’s operational framework and influence how advanced AI technologies are approached across the industry. Notably, it features testimonies from rival billionaires, which is uncommon in such cases.
Musk, the CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and xAI, had expressed intentions to make Brockman and Altman “the most hated men in America” through the evidence presented during the trial, as indicated in text messages released in a court filing. Just days before the trial began, Musk reached out to Brockman to explore possible settlement options.
The exchanges during Monday’s testimony were intense, prompting discussions about the true value of wealth in the tech industry. Moro scandalously compared Brockman to a “guy who robs banks,” a characterization that U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers deemed contentious. Moro further probed into whether there had been financial transfers from OpenAI’s philanthropic endeavors to its commercial operations, suggesting a shift towards profit-driven motives.
Brockman defended his actions, stating that he was allocated his stake in OpenAI in 2018, long before the launch of ChatGPT, and that at the time, financial success was uncertain. He clarified that although he received stock from OpenAI’s board, he did not participate in the decision-making surrounding that allocation, asserting that the organization is still fundamentally governed by a nonprofit foundation.
He also highlighted that OpenAI operates as a public benefit corporation, tasked with balancing its public mission alongside shareholder interests. Brockman stressed that all co-founders, including Musk, sought to establish some commercial aspect, detailing the points of contention that arose.
Despite Musk’s assertion that he is largely disconnected from OpenAI’s current operations—having ceased contributions in 2017 and resigning from the board in 2018—Brockman underscored that the organization has been built through considerable effort since Musk’s departure. He recounted that OpenAI’s inception began in his San Francisco apartment.
While Brockman may not be as widely known as Musk or Altman, he is a significant figure in technology, having served as the chief technology officer at payment solutions company Stripe prior to co-founding OpenAI in 2015. His passion for the organization’s mission was evident during his testimony, at times speaking so quickly that the court reporter struggled to keep pace, prompting judicial interruptions to maintain clarity.
OpenAI recently announced a staggering valuation of $852 billion following its latest funding round. According to the company’s structure, following the reorganization in October, the nonprofit foundation holds 26% ownership, equivalent to that of OpenAI’s employees.
However, Moro persistently redirected the inquiries to the $30 billion figure Musk mentioned last year. Musk’s lawsuit alleges that Brockman, Altman, and others have breached their obligations to OpenAI and unlawfully profited from its transformation into a for-profit entity.
Throughout the more than two-hour interrogation, Moro referenced the nearly $30 billion valuation on multiple occasions, questioning Brockman about the ethical implications of his wealth on OpenAI’s mission. Brockman countered that he believes OpenAI has become “the most well-capitalized nonprofit organization in human history.”
When challenged about whether financial gain was his primary motivation, Brockman maintained that monetary factors have always been secondary. He was further prompted by Moro to consider the idea of capping his compensation at $1 billion and contributing the remainder back to OpenAI’s nonprofit segment—an inquiry Brockman declined to entertain, noting there were assumptions inherent in that proposition.
Moro provocatively remarked about the triviality of a billion dollars relative to Brockman’s wealth, to which Brockman clarified his stance, asserting it was not a reflection of his views. Interestingly, during Monday’s proceedings, Musk’s own immense net worth of approximately $657 billion, as reported by Bloomberg, went unmentioned.
