OpenAI's internal share sale minted roughly 75 multimillionaires who each cashed out the $30 million cap

Not bad for a company that started as a nonprofit: Around 75 OpenAI employees have become multimillionaires through an internal share sale, each cashing out the maximum cap of $30 million. In October 2025, OpenAI organized a $6.6 billion share sale for more than 600 current and former employees, the Wall Street Journal reports. In these "secondary share sales," employees sell existing shares without the company raising new capital.

OpenAI tripled the per-person cap from $10 million to $30 million last fall at investor request, the WSJ says. Employees had to hold shares for at least two years before selling, meaning many cashed out for the first time since ChatGPT's launch. Early buyers from seven years ago saw their shares increase more than a hundredfold. President Greg Brockman stated in court that he owns shares worth roughly $30 billion.

The strong demand reflects OpenAI's current standing. In its most recent funding round, the company raised $122 billion at a valuation of $852 billion.