Sam Altman

We did learn about Sam Altman's investment empire this year, thanks to some reporting in the Wall Street Journal. And they really dug into all of the stakes that he has in many startups and found that he controls at least $2.8 billion worth of holdings.

We did learn about Sam Altman's investment empire this year, thanks to some reporting in the Wall Street Journal. And they really dug into all of the stakes that he has in many startups and found that he controls at least $2.8 billion worth of holdings.

And he's used those holdings to create a line of debt, which he has from JPMorgan Chase, which gives him access to hundreds of millions of more dollars, which he can put into private companies. And why is this interesting? Well, one, that's kind of a pretty risky gamble to have a lot of your... net worth tied up in debt that you raised using your venture investments as collateral.

And he's used those holdings to create a line of debt, which he has from JPMorgan Chase, which gives him access to hundreds of millions of more dollars, which he can put into private companies. And why is this interesting? Well, one, that's kind of a pretty risky gamble to have a lot of your... net worth tied up in debt that you raised using your venture investments as collateral.

And he's used those holdings to create a line of debt, which he has from JPMorgan Chase, which gives him access to hundreds of millions of more dollars, which he can put into private companies. And why is this interesting? Well, one, that's kind of a pretty risky gamble to have a lot of your... net worth tied up in debt that you raised using your venture investments as collateral.

That's kind of like a rickety ladder of investments right there. But it also creates questions around what companies is OpenAI doing deals with? are those companies that Sam has investments in. Of course, Sam doesn't own equity in OpenAI right now, and so his own wealth is tied up in these investments.

That's kind of like a rickety ladder of investments right there. But it also creates questions around what companies is OpenAI doing deals with? are those companies that Sam has investments in. Of course, Sam doesn't own equity in OpenAI right now, and so his own wealth is tied up in these investments.

That's kind of like a rickety ladder of investments right there. But it also creates questions around what companies is OpenAI doing deals with? are those companies that Sam has investments in. Of course, Sam doesn't own equity in OpenAI right now, and so his own wealth is tied up in these investments.

And while nobody really thinks that Sam is doing any of this for the money, there was just kind of also this financial element to what we learned about him this year that I think raised some questions for people.

And while nobody really thinks that Sam is doing any of this for the money, there was just kind of also this financial element to what we learned about him this year that I think raised some questions for people.

And while nobody really thinks that Sam is doing any of this for the money, there was just kind of also this financial element to what we learned about him this year that I think raised some questions for people.

I essentially have the same view of his motivations. And I think the generous version of it is that he is in a long line of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs who thought they could use innovation to solve some of the world's biggest problems and that that is how they want to spend their lives.

I essentially have the same view of his motivations. And I think the generous version of it is that he is in a long line of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs who thought they could use innovation to solve some of the world's biggest problems and that that is how they want to spend their lives.

I essentially have the same view of his motivations. And I think the generous version of it is that he is in a long line of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs who thought they could use innovation to solve some of the world's biggest problems and that that is how they want to spend their lives.

I think the less generous version of it is that this person coming out of that tradition found himself working on this technology that could essentially be like the technology that ends all other technologies. Because if the thing works out, the thing you've created just creates all other innovation automatically for the rest of time. And that...

I think the less generous version of it is that this person coming out of that tradition found himself working on this technology that could essentially be like the technology that ends all other technologies. Because if the thing works out, the thing you've created just creates all other innovation automatically for the rest of time. And that...

I think the less generous version of it is that this person coming out of that tradition found himself working on this technology that could essentially be like the technology that ends all other technologies. Because if the thing works out, the thing you've created just creates all other innovation automatically for the rest of time. And that...

is a position of extraordinary power to put yourself into it. And I do think that he is attracted to the power and the influence that will come from being one of the people that invents this incredibly powerful thing.

is a position of extraordinary power to put yourself into it. And I do think that he is attracted to the power and the influence that will come from being one of the people that invents this incredibly powerful thing.

is a position of extraordinary power to put yourself into it. And I do think that he is attracted to the power and the influence that will come from being one of the people that invents this incredibly powerful thing.