I saw something interesting circulating about Sam Altman's income. According to documents that OpenAI filed with the IRS, the CEO earned just over $76,000 last year. Yes, you read that right: the head of one of the most influential companies in the world officially earns a salary that might seem almost modest compared to typical tech CEO compensation.

The curious thing is that Altman has repeatedly said that his salary is tied to the minimum Medicare standard. In 2022, he declared $73,546, so basically the same range. Despite having a net worth of at least $2 billion, at least on paper, his annual compensation from OpenAI remains surprisingly low.

Altman has always denied owning shares of the company, although Bloomberg reported that the company had discussed giving him some. It’s a rather rare situation in the corporate world: a CEO with such significant wealth who maintains a virtually symbolic salary. These numbers come from the forms that all American nonprofit organizations are required to file annually with the IRS, so they are public documents. A transparency that contrasts quite a bit with what we’re used to seeing in the tech sector.