Sam Altman pledges to donate 'most' of his wealth 'to improve the world'

Open AI CEO Sam Altman and his husband Oliver Mulherin have decided to give away most of their wealth to The Giving Pledge' - founded by Warren Buffett, Melinda French Gates, and Bill Gates

Chief Executive of Open AI Sam Altman and his partner Oliver Mulherin have decided to give away 'most of their wealth' to Warren Buffett’s ‘The Giving Pledge’ in a bid to “improve the world,” the couple said.

“We would not be making this pledge if it weren’t for the hard work, brilliance, generosity, and dedication to improve the world of many people that built the scaffolding of society that let us get here,” Altman and Mulherin said in a statement, which is available on the charitable campaign’s website.

“There is nothing we can do except feel immense gratitude and commit to pay it forward, and do what we can to build the scaffolding up a little higher. We intend to focus our giving on supporting technology that helps create abundance for people, so that they can then build the scaffolding even higher,” the statement, dated May 18, further read.

What is the Giving Pledge?

The Giving Pledge was created in 2010 by Buffett, Melinda French Gates, and Bill Gates, aimed at encouraging wealthy people to publicly commit to giving “the majority of their wealth to philanthropy either during their lifetimes or in their wills,” the website says.

Originally focused on the United States, the pledge has now gained international traction, with over 250 individuals from worldwide participating

Nikhil Kamath, Elon Musk also on list

The list also includes its three founders, Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan, Elon Musk, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, among some of the marquee names.

Altman-Mulherin married in January

Altman got married to Mulherin in January this year in an intimate ceremony at an undisclosed beach location. Altman, 38, is a leading face of the artificial intelligence (AI) boom and heads the US-based AI research firm OpenAI.

Mulherin, is a San Francisco-based software engineer. The couple was also spotted at the White House dinner in June 2023 that US President Joe Biden hosted for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.