San Francisco, May 11, 2026 — More than 600 current and former employees of OpenAI became millionaires in a single day after collectively selling $6.6 billion worth of company shares during an internal tender offer last October, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.
The extraordinary payout is being described as one of the largest wealth-creation events for ordinary employees in the history of the technology industry. On average, each participating employee earned around $11 million from the share sale.
The report said nearly 75 employees reached the maximum approved sale limit of $30 million each. Employees who joined OpenAI about seven years ago reportedly saw their share values increase by more than 100 times during that period. In comparison, the Nasdaq Composite Index rose only about threefold over the same timeframe.
The development highlights how artificial intelligence companies are generating enormous wealth even before going public through initial public offerings (IPOs). Instead of pursuing stock market listings, many major technology firms are increasingly using private tender offers to reward employees and satisfy investor demand.
OpenAI reportedly increased its internal share-sale cap from $10 million to $30 million amid growing interest from investors. Under company rules, employees must wait two years after receiving shares before selling them. Many workers became eligible to sell their shares for the first time following the success of ChatGPT.
Despite the windfall, many employees reportedly donated part of their earnings to donor-advised funds, allowing them to support charitable causes while also receiving tax benefits during the same fiscal year.
The company is also known for offering highly competitive compensation packages. Certain technical positions at OpenAI reportedly receive annual salaries exceeding $500,000, while some employees were awarded multi-million-dollar bonuses in 2025.
Among senior executives, OpenAI President Greg Brockman is believed to hold equity worth an estimated $30 billion. However, Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman reportedly does not own equity in the company because OpenAI operates under a unique non-profit governance structure.
