• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

New York City women are making up to $30,000 per month by renting out their closets to strangers

2

Why did a $154 billion CEO just endorse stripping most Americans of voting rights—and taking us back to the 19th century?

3

The millennial generation is split in 2: an older crowd with boomer-style comfort, a younger set going 'back to the early 1900s'

1

New York City women are making up to $30,000 per month by renting out their closets to strangers

2

Why did a $154 billion CEO just endorse stripping most Americans of voting rights—and taking us back to the 19th century?

3

The millennial generation is split in 2: an older crowd with boomer-style comfort, a younger set going 'back to the early 1900s'
AIOpenAI

Sam Altman sometimes wishes OpenAI were public so haters could short the stock—‘I would love to see them get burned on that’

Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez
By
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez
Reporter
Down Arrow Button Icon
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez
By
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez
Reporter
Down Arrow Button Icon
November 3, 2025, 1:00 PM ET
Sam Altman, chief executive officer of OpenAI
Sam Altman, chief executive officer of OpenAIKyle Grillot—Bloomberg/Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Sam Altman is getting fed up with the haters, and he wishes OpenAI were public so they could put money behind their critiques.

Recommended Video

The CEO quickly became defensive when BG2 podcast host and Altimeter Capital founder Brad Gerstner asked about OpenAI’s reported $13 billion in revenue—a respectable figure about equal to that of Dick’s Sporting Goods, but which pales in comparison to the $1.4 trillion OpenAI has committed to investing in computing infrastructure.

“First of all, we’re doing well more revenue than that. Second of all, Brad, if you want to sell your shares, I’ll find you a buyer,” Altman said. “I just—enough. I think there are a lot of people who would love to buy OpenAI shares.”

He predicted revenue will grow steeply, that ChatGPT will continue to grow, and that OpenAI’s developing consumer device business will take off.

“I think we could sell, you know, your shares or anybody else’s to some of the people who are making the most noise on Twitter, whatever, about this very quickly,” Altman said.

Although not publicly traded, OpenAI’s long list of institutional backers have privately held shares in the startup. This includes Gerstner’s Altimeter Capital, which invested an undisclosed amount as part of last year’s $6.6 billion funding round that valued the company at $157 billion. OpenAI is now worth $500 billion after a secondary share sale for current and former employees last month.

Altman also said that there are “not many times” he wishes OpenAI were a public company, but he highlighted one particular benefit of having publicly traded shares.

“One of the rare times it’s appealing is when those people are writing these ridiculous ‘OpenAI is about to go out of business.’ I would love to tell them they could just short the stock, and I would love to see them get burned on that,” he added.

OpenAI did not immediately respond to Fortune’s request for comment.

The OpenAI CEO is known for not backing down from conflict. Over the weekend, OpenAI cofounder and Tesla CEO Elon Musk took shots at Altman, alleging he “stole a nonprofit.” Altman responded, “I helped turn the thing you left for dead into what should be the largest nonprofit ever.”

Despite Altman’s occasional wish that OpenAI were publicly traded, the AI giant has no clear timeline on when it will do so. The company, which was founded as a nonprofit, restructured as a for-profit public benefit corporation, or PBC, last week. The move will help it raise funds more easily and could pave the way for a future initial public offering.

Altman has remained ambivalent about the potential timing for OpenAI to go public. Despite a report by Reuters last week claiming the company was preparing for an IPO in 2026 or 2027 at a whopping $1 trillion valuation, Altman reiterated on the podcast there is no specific plan. 

Still, he acknowledged that the idea is to go public eventually.

“I’m a realist. I assume it will happen someday, but that was—I don’t know why people write these reports,” Altman said about the Reuters report. “We don’t have a date in mind. We don’t have a board decision to do this or anything like that. I just assume it’s where things will eventually go.”

Subscribe to Fortune Gulf Brief. Every Tuesday, this new newsletter delivers clear-eyed, authoritative intelligence on the deals, decisions, policies, and power shifts shaping one of the world’s most consequential regions, written for the people who need to act on it. Sign up here.
About the Author
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezReporter
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Role: Reporter
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez is a reporter for Fortune covering general business news.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in AI

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • TikTok icon
  • YouTube icon

Latest in AI

How Wistron’s early Nvidia bet made it an unsung winner of the AI boom—and one of the biggest risers on this year’s Global 500
MagazineGlobal 500
How Wistron’s early Nvidia bet made it an unsung winner of the AI boom—and one of the biggest risers on this year’s Global 500
By Nicholas GordonJuly 28, 2026
1 hour ago
Meet the ‘AI Centurions’—6 formerly sleepy stocks that now have market caps over $100 billion
AIinvesting strategy
Meet the ‘AI Centurions’—6 formerly sleepy stocks that now have market caps over $100 billion
By Shawn TullyJuly 28, 2026
2 hours ago
small keyboard
AIOpenAI
OpenAI’s first hardware device debuted at $230. Now, it’s on eBay for $1,850
By Emily ForliniJuly 27, 2026
11 hours ago
Sam Altman thinks the singularity is already here, but an expert says OpenAI’s Hugging Face breach doesn’t prove it
AISam Altman
Sam Altman thinks the singularity is already here, but an expert says OpenAI’s Hugging Face breach doesn’t prove it
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJuly 27, 2026
11 hours ago
Photo of Elon Musk
SuccessElon Musk
A Nobel economist challenged Elon Musk to donate his entire $1T fortune by 2036. Musk’s reply: ‘I am actually going to do something along these lines’
By Sydney LakeJuly 27, 2026
13 hours ago
Elon Musk’s vision of a post-money future got mocked. Vinod Khosla warns it could become a dystopia instead
AIthe future of work
Elon Musk’s vision of a post-money future got mocked. Vinod Khosla warns it could become a dystopia instead
By Nick LichtenbergJuly 27, 2026
13 hours ago

Most Popular

New York City women are making up to $30,000 per month by renting out their closets to strangers
Retail
New York City women are making up to $30,000 per month by renting out their closets to strangers
By Sarah GlodekJuly 27, 2026
1 day ago
Why did a $154 billion CEO just endorse stripping most Americans of voting rights—and taking us back to the 19th century?
C-Suite
Why did a $154 billion CEO just endorse stripping most Americans of voting rights—and taking us back to the 19th century?
By Nick LichtenbergJuly 27, 2026
17 hours ago
The millennial generation is split in 2: an older crowd with boomer-style comfort, a younger set going 'back to the early 1900s'
Real Estate
The millennial generation is split in 2: an older crowd with boomer-style comfort, a younger set going 'back to the early 1900s'
By Nick LichtenbergJuly 25, 2026
3 days ago
I've been teaching college students for decades. Most of them can no longer finish a book
Commentary
I've been teaching college students for decades. Most of them can no longer finish a book
By Austin SaratJuly 26, 2026
2 days ago
One-third of Seattle's downtown is empty: Here's how America's boomtown turned into one of the toughest places to find a job
Real Estate
One-third of Seattle's downtown is empty: Here's how America's boomtown turned into one of the toughest places to find a job
By Nick LichtenbergJuly 27, 2026
1 day ago
An 11-year-old is cleaning his neighbors' trash cans for $10 each—he now has 100K followers as teens face the worst summer job market since 1948
Success
An 11-year-old is cleaning his neighbors' trash cans for $10 each—he now has 100K followers as teens face the worst summer job market since 1948
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJuly 25, 2026
3 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.