OpenAI CEO Brockman testifies in court, revealing $30 billion in holdings, highly intertwined with Altman’s private investments

OpenAI co-founder and president Greg Brockman on May 4, during Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI in court, disclosed that the value of his OpenAI equity is about $30 billion, and publicly revealed multiple private investments that are highly intertwined with CEO Sam Altman. Reuters / Yahoo Finance reported that, under questioning by Musk’s lawyers, Brockman confirmed that he holds shares in AI chip startup Cerebras, and that he still held them while internal discussions at OpenAI took place about acquiring Cerebras; at the same time, Brockman also has positions in fusion startup Helion Energy, where Altman put in more than $500 million and Brockman also holds shares, and Brockman has held shares in the Altman family fund since 2017.

Three overlapping interests: Cerebras, Helion, and the Altman family fund

The specific financial intertwinings disclosed in Brockman’s testimony:

Cerebras (AI chip startup) — Brockman holds shares in Cerebras and, while OpenAI internally discussed the acquisition of Cerebras multiple times, he still had not sold. OpenAI later abandoned the acquisition, and Cerebras proceeded to IPO on its own. Brockman is also OpenAI’s president and a shareholder in a potential acquisition target, making the conflict of interest clear

Helion Energy (fusion startup) — Altman personally has invested more than $500 million, and Brockman also holds shares. OpenAI has strategic interest in fusion power and long-term compute needs, and Helion is a potential supplier

Altman family fund — In 2017, Altman gave Brockman a share stake in a family fund, valued at $10 million at the time. Eight years later, the fund’s value was not disclosed, but Altman’s personal investment portfolio’s surge likely greatly increased the value of this stake

Taken together, the three items outline a phenomenon: Brockman’s private financial interests, combined with Altman’s personal investment portfolio + OpenAI’s strategic decisions, form a three-way overlap. Musk’s legal team argues that this is the key motivation for why Brockman has consistently supported Altman during the process of OpenAI’s transition from a nonprofit structure to a for-profit structure.

OpenAI $30 billion shareholding: Brockman’s personal stake value

Brockman’s personal stake value in OpenAI is about $30 billion, making him one of the largest individual beneficiaries in OpenAI after Altman. OpenAI’s overall valuation in secondary-market trading in the second half of 2025 to the first half of 2026 is about $800 billion to $1 trillion, and Brockman’s stake proportion corresponds to 3-4%.

The significance of this figure lies more in what it reveals than in the mere existence of Brockman’s holdings—showing the concrete scale of wealth amplification for an early OpenAI co-founder during the transition from a nonprofit to a for-profit structure. One of the core issues in Musk’s lawsuit is that “OpenAI’s nonprofit assets were transferred to for-profit entities for free, allowing insiders to benefit,” and Brockman’s $30 billion stake is a specific corroboration of that argument.

Musk vs. OpenAI lawsuit: the legal significance of Brockman’s testimony

Musk’s core claims in suing OpenAI: OpenAI, a nonprofit organization founded in 2015, under Altman’s leadership improperly converted into a for-profit company, abandoned its original charitable goals, and should be returned to a nonprofit structure. When Musk’s legal team questioned Brockman, the goal was to establish two things:

Brockman had a strong personal financial motivation to support Altman’s for-profit path (equity worth $30 billion could only be realized under a for-profit structure)

Brockman’s and Altman’s private investments are intertwined, weakening his ability as an “independent director / senior executive” to make objective judgments for shareholders and the nonprofit mission

Brockman’s defense strategy is to emphasize: (1) the value of the shares is a byproduct of OpenAI’s overall growth, not personal unjust enrichment; (2) his private investment ties with Altman were based on early friendship, not related-party transfers; (3) OpenAI’s for-profit conversion was a collective decision by the board of directors, not a personal plan by Altman and Brockman. Whether the court ultimately finds this persuasive will directly affect OpenAI’s corporate governance structure and future IPO pathway.

This article, “OpenAI President Brockman’s testimony reveals a $30 billion stake and a high degree of intertwinement with Altman’s private investments,” first appeared on 鏈新聞 ABMedia.