Key Points:
- Court documents show Sam Altman holds more than $2 billion in nine companies that maintain active deals with OpenAI.
- Elon Musk is suing the company for $150 billion in damages and is seeking to have a judge remove Altman from the board.
- Altman owns a $1.7 billion stake in Helion Energy and a $3.2 million stake in Cerebras, which recently signed a $10 billion computing deal.
- Ten state attorneys general asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate the artificial intelligence company before it goes public.
Court documents revealed on Tuesday that OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman holds more than $2 billion in stakes in companies that do business with his artificial intelligence firm. Elon Musk and several state attorneys general now accuse Altman of self-dealing. A congressional committee also opened an investigation into his financial practices to determine if he abused his power.
Lawyers revealed the financial details during hearings for a massive lawsuit filed by Elon Musk. The billionaire sued OpenAI, seeking $150 billion in damages. Musk also asked a judge to remove Altman from his roles as an officer and board member. The lawsuit claims Altman breached his charitable trust and unjustly enriched himself at the expense of the company.
During the Tuesday hearing, Steven Molo, the lead trial lawyer for Musk, presented a crucial document to the court. This document lists the personal holdings Altman held in nine different companies as of December 31, 2025. Every single one of these nine companies maintains an active business deal with OpenAI.
While Altman does not own direct stock in OpenAI, Forbes estimates his total net worth sits around $4 billion. He built this massive fortune through various venture capital investments. He made many of these strategic bets before and during his time running the artificial intelligence company.
The court document detailed several massive investments. Altman holds a $1.7 billion stake in a fusion power company called Helion Energy. He also owns $633 million in a financial software maker named Stripe, and he holds $258 million in Retro Biosciences, an anti-aging pharmaceutical business. All three of these companies actively work with OpenAI.
Lawyers focused heavily on the relationship with Helion Energy during the court hearing. Altman testified that he became friends with the founders and first invested his personal money into the energy startup back in 2015. Helion does not yet make any money, but private investors currently value the business at $5.4 billion. The startup wants to build the world’s first working fusion power plant.
Altman admitted in court that he asked the OpenAI board to look into a partnership with Helion in late 2022. He told the board he believed the partnership offered a good deal. Helion eventually signed an agreement in 2024 to provide future energy to OpenAI. Altman stayed on the Helion board of directors until March 2026. He stepped down when the two companies started negotiating a much larger energy contract.
The chief executive firmly denied any wrongdoing regarding the Helion contract. He testified that he recused himself from both sides of the negotiating table. He also noted that he never signed the actual agreement, leaving the final decision to other executives.
The trial lawyer then questioned Altman about a content partnership that OpenAI signed with Reddit in May 2024. Molo argued that Altman had an obvious conflict of interest while leading those negotiations. Altman defended his actions, stating he kept other people in the room and followed a standard corporate recusal process. The court document showed Altman sold off his entire Reddit stake by the end of 2025. When Reddit went public in 2024, its shares were valued at more than $600 million.
The lawyer also pointed to a massive computing deal between OpenAI and a chip maker called Cerebras. OpenAI signed a $10 billion agreement with the hardware company. Altman currently owns a $3.2 million personal stake in Cerebras. The document also listed his investments in several other partner companies, including Humane, Software Applications, Formation Bio, and Lattice.
The pressure on Altman extends far beyond the courtroom. Ten Republican attorneys general from states including Florida, Louisiana, and Alabama sent a formal letter to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday. They asked the federal agency to closely examine OpenAI documents before the company launches an expected initial public offering. The state officials wrote that the chief executive’s conduct raises serious legal questions and demands close government scrutiny.
Lawmakers in Washington also want answers about these business deals. The United States House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform sent Altman a formal letter last week. The committee demanded detailed information regarding how OpenAI manages internal conflicts of interest. The Securities and Exchange Commission refused to comment on the ongoing situation.
