Trump’s AI wealth plan: How Americans could get trillion-dollar stakes in OpenAI, Anthropic and other tech companies | Today’s news
President Trump has outlined a proposal that would give the American public a direct ownership stake in artificial intelligence companies, arguing that such an arrangement would transform the relationship between government, citizens and tech firms, while redistributing the wealth from the trillion-dollar businesses to the wider population.
The proposal, which Trump unveiled aboard Air Force One, represents a major shift in the way policymakers envision regulating and managing the development of artificial intelligence. Rather than traditional regulatory oversight, Trump’s framework would position ordinary Americans as financial participants in the commercial success of AI.
Trump envisions ownership of AI creating a partnership between the public and private sectors
Trump articulated the rationale for the proposal directly. “There’s something very interesting about it that almost becomes a partnership with the American public,” he told reporters. “It’s like making them partners in this revolution. It would be a beautiful thing. … They would get rich.”
The president went on to elaborate on the scope and scale of what such an arrangement could entail. “So much money, and it’s so big, that there are concepts where pieces could be given to the American public, where the American public basically becomes a partner with the companies,” Trump said, describing upcoming stock offerings by Anthropic, SpaceX and OpenAI as the immediate context of those discussions.
How a public investment fund model would work in the AI sector
The mechanism for implementing such ownership stakes remains a matter of negotiation within the Trump administration. Industry figures spoke of relatively modest percentages, with discussions centered on bets ranging from one to five percent. More ambitious proposals, including one recently revived by Senator Bernie Sanders, would extract significantly larger holdings through tax mechanisms, with Sanders proposing a one-time fifty percent tax levied on shares instead of cash.
Trump indicated an openness to exploring different implementation strategies. “We’re going to look at it. We’re talking about where the American people can benefit from the success of AI,” the president said. “And when they do, they’ll like it more. We’re leading China. We’re leading everyone in the world with AI, and we want to keep it that way.”
OpenAI leadership has been pushing the concept of public ownership for months
The proposal did not emerge spontaneously from the White House. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman promoted the concept through several channels over the previous twelve months, first in private conversations with administration officials, then through a framework of proposals called the AI New Deal, and most recently during visits to Capitol Hill, where he spoke with both Sanders and bipartisan Congressional leadership.
OpenAI’s published framework, titled “Industrial Policy for the Intelligence Age,” circulated in April, included a “Public Wealth Fund” as one of several provocative management concepts. Corporate advocacy has provided the intellectual scaffolding for what Trump now considers executive policy.
Public skepticism about artificial intelligence is accelerating the industry push for a betting model
The driving force behind the enthusiasm for public ownership arrangements stems in part from political necessity. Artificial intelligence remains widely unpopular with the US population. Technology leaders and Trump administration officials believe that turning ordinary Americans into financial beneficiaries of AI’s commercial success could fundamentally change public perception of the technology.
The trajectory of wealth creation by AI companies presents a distinct political challenge. As these businesses generate extraordinary valuations and returns for shareholders, public resentment is growing, especially given concerns about job displacement and the concentration of technological power. A public ownership structure would address what industry strategists see as a legitimacy problem.
Trump draws an unexpected parallel between his economics and Sanders’ democratic socialism
When Trump was confronted with accepting a proposal originating from a democratic socialist senator, he reframed the conversation through the lens of economic populism. “In terms of the economy, we have certain things that are not that far off. People are surprised,” he said.
The statement underscores an emerging consensus across ideological lines that AI wealth creation requires some form of public participation mechanism. Whether through taxation, direct equity stakes, or alternative measures, the basic principle that citizens should share in the windfalls of AI has moved from fringe proposals to mainstream policy considerations.
