ChatGPT’s Sam Altman describes himself as ‘politically homeless’
"But that’s fine; I care much, much more about being American than any political party," says gay billionaire Altman
By Aaron Sugg
OpenAI CEO and billionaire Sam Altman has declared he is now “politically homeless,” citing growing disappointment with the Democratic Party’s stance on wealth.
Altman posted on X (formerly Twitter) last week (4 July), saying the party has “completely moved somewhere else,” and criticised Democrats for focusing on eliminating billionaires rather than expanding access to wealth for all Americans.
“I’m not big on identities” – Sam Altman
Altman began by expressing frustration with the current political landscape in a series of posts on X: “I’m not big on identities, but I am extremely proud to be American.”
I’m not big on identities, but I am extremely proud to be American. This is true every day, but especially today—I firmly believe this is the greatest country ever on Earth. The American miracle stands alone in world history.
— Sam Altman (@sama) July 4, 2025
I believe in techno-capitalism. We should encourage…
“I believe in techno-capitalism. We should encourage people to make tons of money and then also find ways to widely distribute wealth and share the compounding magic of capitalism. One doesn’t work without the other; you cannot raise the floor and not also raise the ceiling for very long,” he continued.
“So now I am politically homeless. But that’s fine”
Altman, who came out as gay at the age of 16, said: “The Democratic Party seemed reasonably aligned with it when I was 20, losing the plot when I was 30, and completely to have moved somewhere else at this point. So now I am politically homeless. But that’s fine; I care much, much more about being American than any political party.”
“I’d rather hear from candidates about how they are going to make everyone have the stuff billionaires have instead of how they are going to eliminate billionaires,” said the tech boss, who is worth $1.7 billion.
The new-40-year-old’s comments appeared to be in response to the recent primary victory of Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, who won the Democratic nomination for New York City mayor the week prior.
Mamdani has said he believes billionaires should not exist in an equitable society but emphasised working with all people – including billionaires –to build a fairer city.
“What we need more of is equality across our city”
“I don’t think that we should have billionaires because, frankly, it is so much money in a moment of such inequality, and ultimately, what we need more of is equality across our city and across our state and across our country. And I look forward to working with everyone, including billionaires, to make a city that is fair for all of them,” he told NBC News’s Meet the Press.
Altman’s political declaration also comes amid a growing rift with tech rival Elon Musk. Once collaborators, tensions between the billionaires have grown since Musk left OpenAI in 2018.