Trump Considers Government Stakes in OpenAI, AI Firms; Sanders Proposes 50% Equity Transfer

According to Bloomberg, President Trump said on Friday (June 5) that he is considering having the federal government acquire equity stakes in top AI developers like OpenAI, with the intention to share ownership with the American public. Trump stated, "This would be a good thing, it would make them wealthy," and indicated openness to placing shares in a government sovereign wealth fund and distributing returns to citizens.

On the same week, Senator Bernie Sanders introduced the "American AI Sovereignty Wealth Fund Act," which would require top AI companies to transfer 50% of their equity to the government, with proceeds redistributed to the public. Sanders wrote in the New York Times that AI wealth creation, built on humanity's collective knowledge, must benefit all people.