# OpenAI Proposes 5% U.S. Government Equity Stake

> OpenAI has floated an unusual idea to the Trump administration: hand the U.S. government a 5 percent equity stake, a slice worth roughly 42.6 billion dollars against the company's reported 852 billion dollar valuation. Sam Altman reportedly pitched the plan directly to President Trump, Commerce Secretary Lutnick, and Treasury Secretary Bessent, framing it as a way to cool the political anger over how much wealth a handful of AI firms are concentrating. The model borrows from the Alaska Permanent Fund, where oil revenue flows into a public vehicle that pays residents a dividend. Under the proposal, every leading American AI lab would set aside 5 percent for a shared public fund, turning the industry's gains into something ordinary citizens hold a claim on. It would still need Congressional approval to happen. Whether this is genuine wealth sharing or a savvy piece of political insurance is the open question. Handing Washington an ownership stake also hands it influence, and the idea lands just as surveys show most workers want AI companies to give up far more than 5 percent.

_Section: [Daily AI Updates](https://www.wortins.com/daily-ai) · Source: CNBC · Published Wednesday, July 15, 2026_

## Wortins' read

OpenAI has floated an unusual idea to the Trump administration: hand the U.S. government a 5 percent equity stake, a slice worth roughly 42.6 billion dollars against the company's reported 852 billion dollar valuation. Sam Altman reportedly pitched the plan directly to President Trump, Commerce Secretary Lutnick, and Treasury Secretary Bessent, framing it as a way to cool the political anger over how much wealth a handful of AI firms are concentrating. The model borrows from the Alaska Permanent Fund, where oil revenue flows into a public vehicle that pays residents a dividend. Under the proposal, every leading American AI lab would set aside 5 percent for a shared public fund, turning the industry's gains into something ordinary citizens hold a claim on. It would still need Congressional approval to happen. Whether this is genuine wealth sharing or a savvy piece of political insurance is the open question. Handing Washington an ownership stake also hands it influence, and the idea lands just as surveys show most workers want AI companies to give up far more than 5 percent.

## Source

[Read the full story at CNBC](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/02/openai-proposes-us-government-own-5percent-stake-to-address-political-blowback.html)

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