Sam Altman (b. 1985) is an American tech [[🔎 Entrepreneurship|entrepreneur]] and investor, known as the CEO of **[[🏦 OpenAI|OpenAI]]** since 2019 (briefly removed and reinstated in 2023). He was also the former president of **[[🏦 Y Combinator (YC)|Y Combinator]]**, co-founded **[[Loopt]]** (a mobile app sold to Green Dot for $43 million), and chairs **[[Oklo Inc.]]** and **[[Helion Energy]]**, companies in the clean energy sector. He grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, attended [[🏫 Stanford|Stanford University]] (dropped out after two years), and began coding early in life. He founded several ventures, including **Tools For Humanity**, creator of the controversial **[[Worldcoin]]** project involving biometric data collection. His investments span tech startups like **[[🏦 Airbnb ($ABNB)|Airbnb]]**, **[[🏦 Stripe|Stripe]]**, and nuclear tech. In November 2023, OpenAI’s board removed him, citing transparency concerns, but employee backlash and external pressure led to his reinstatement within days. Personally, Altman is openly gay, married [[Oliver Mulherin]] in 2024, is a vegetarian, and a noted “apocalypse prepper.” He supports [[Universal Basic Income (UBI)]], land value taxation, and has been active politically, backing various Democratic and bipartisan initiatives, although controversially donating to [[😊 Donald J. Trump|Donald Trump]]’s 2025 inauguration fund. As of April 2025, Altman’s net worth is about **$1.5 billion**, with significant investments across hundreds of companies.