Topline
Billionaire Elon Musk and other investors made a $97.4 billion unsolicited bid to buy the nonprofit group that controls OpenAI, escalating a longstanding feud between Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman—though Altman quickly rejected the offer on X, Musk’s social media site, and mocked the platform.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaks as he attends at the Kakao media day with Kakao CEO Shina Chung in ... [+]
Key Facts
The offer from Musk—who co-founded OpenAI with Altman and others in 2015 but is now in a legal battle with the CEO—was first reported by The Wall Street Journal and potentially added a complication to Altman’s plans to make OpenAI a for-profit company.
After Musk left OpenAI, which was founded as a nonprofit, Altman created a for-profit subsidiary to raise money and he is in the process of breaking that off into its own company, the Journal reported.
Musk’s offer could complicate that transition, since the nonprofit arm will still own a stake in the for-profit company, and Musk’s high valuation set with the offer could mean the nonprofit entity maintains significant control of the new company, according to the Journal.
Musk’s attorney, Marc Toberoff, told Forbes in a statement that if Altman and OpenAI’s board “is intent on becoming a fully for-profit corporation, it is vital that the charity be fairly compensated for what its leadership is taking away from it: control over the most transformative technology of our time.”
Through Toberoff, Musk said in a statement to Forbes: “It’s time for OpenAI to return to the open-source, safety-focused force for good it once was.”
Less than an hour after the Journal’s report that Musk submitted the offer, Altman took to X—formerly known as Twitter until Musk purchased and rebranded it—to say: “no thank you but we will buy twitter for $9.74 billion if you want.”
Musk then responded to Altman’s tweet and called him a “swindler.”
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Why Does Musk Take Issue With Openai Being For-Profit?
When OpenAI launched, it said its goal was to “advance digital intelligence in the way that is most likely to benefit humanity as a whole, unconstrained by a need to generate financial return.” Its announcement post continued: “Since our research is free from financial obligations, we can better focus on a positive human impact.” Musk sued OpenAI for allegedly becoming a “closed-source de facto subsidiary” of its investor Microsoft, and he reupped the lawsuit in November in an effort to stop OpenAI from becoming for-profit. The battle over OpenAI’s profit status is part of Musk’s longstanding feud with Altman, the two of whom were among 11 cofounders of OpenAI and served as co-chairs of the non-profit research organization. The feud has escalated as Musk’s xAI has been competing with OpenAI and others in AI.
Big Number
$97,375,000,000.00. That’s how big the offer was from the Musk-led group of investors offering to purchase all assets of OpenAI, Inc.
Forbes Valuation
We estimate Musk has a net worth of $391.3 billion as of Monday afternoon, making him the wealthiest person in the world. Altman has an estimated net worth of $1.2 billion.
Further Reading
Israel and Hamas</a>. Previously, she has covered a range of topics from <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href=https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollybohannon/2025/02/10/sam-altman-rejects-elon-musks-offer-to-buy-openai-control-and-mocks-x/"https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollybohannon/2024/04/01/former-trump-aide-hope-hicks-may-testify-at-trump-hush-money-trial-report-says/">Donald Trump's legal battles</a> to Taylor Swift's path to becoming a <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href=https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollybohannon/2025/02/10/sam-altman-rejects-elon-musks-offer-to-buy-openai-control-and-mocks-x/"https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollybohannon/2024/04/02/taylor-swift-officially-joins-forbes-billionaire-list-as-one-of-14-celebrity-billionaires/">billionaire. She joined Forbes in April 2022 and is based in Colorado. Prior to joining Forbes, Bohannon covered local news and spent time at the Fort Collins Coloradoan and the Arizona Republic. She graduated with a degree in journalism from Creighton University and has an MA in investigative journalism from Arizona State. Follow Bohannon for continued coverage of pop culture, politics and updates on the war in Gaza. </p>">
