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OpenAI employees cashed out $6.6B in stock sales last fall, earning up to $30M each: report

Nypost · · 304 words · By Thomas Barrabi
AI Industry Competition Corporate Wealth OpenAI Valuation
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OpenAI employees cashed out $6.6B in stock sales last fall, earning up to $30M each: report Sam Altman’s OpenAI allowed employees to cash out a whopping $6.6 billion in sales of shares last October, according to a report.

Claims checked 10
Techniques found 1
Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center80%
Right20%

5 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

OpenAI employees cashed out $6.6B in stock sales last fall, earning up to $30M each: report Sam Altman’s OpenAI allowed employees to cash out a whopping $6.6 billion in sales of shares last October, according to a report.

Why it matters

More than 600 current and former workers participated and were allowed to sell up to $30 million in shares each as part of a financing round, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Common ground

About 75 employees maxed out their sales and received the full $30 million, the report said.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/05/11/business/openai-employees-cashed-out-6-6b-in-stock…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 1 propaganda technique in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning
Loaded Language 80% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 10 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 8
verified Verified By Reference 1
verified Verified 1
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Claim 1: “More than 600 current and former workers participated and were allowed to sell up to $30 million in shares each as part of a financing round”
CORROBORATED
Three separate web sources (ChainCatcher, Sherwood News/Journal report, and another news site) confirm that over 600 employees participated and could sell up to $30 million each.
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web search NEUTRAL — Last year, OpenAI allowed employees to sell their shares, and 600 people collectively cashed out $6.6 billion, with 75 individuals taking the maximum of $30 million each.
https://www.chaincatcher.com/en/article/2263947
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web search NEUTRAL — According to the report, in October, more than 600 current and former OpenAI employees sold shares through this process, minting a cluster of new multimillionaires. The Journal said about 75 of those …
https://sherwood.news/tech/openai-employees-cash-out-shares-…
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web search NEUTRAL — The total value of shares sold by these employees in October last year reached $6.6 billion (approximately 9.7 trillion won). Among them, about 75 employees are said to have cashed out the full $30 mi…
https://en.sedaily.com/international/2026/05/11/openai-emplo…
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Claim 2: “OpenAI was valued at $852 billion as of March”
CORROBORATED
The valuation of $852 billion as of March is reported by CNBC, FT (via Google News), and Bitcoin News.
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web search NEUTRAL — OpenAI Valuation Hits $852 Billion as Investors Question Strategy Shift.OpenAI's $852 billion valuation faces investor scrutiny amid strategy shift, FT reports. 1 hour ago. Save for later.
https://news.google.com/stories/CAAqNggKIjBDQklTSGpvSmMzUnZj…
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web search NEUTRAL — What is OpenAI’s current valuation? OpenAI closed its latest funding round on March 31, 2026, at a post-money valuation of $852 billion. Who invested in OpenAI’s $122 billion round?
https://news.bitcoin.com/chatgpt-maker-openai-valued-at-852b…
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web search NEUTRAL — OpenAI raised $122 billion in a funding round that valued it at $852 billion. The company also said it is developing a “unified AI superapp.”
https://www.pymnts.com/artificial-intelligence-2/2026/openai…
+ 1 more evidence source
verified
Claim 3: “the San Francisco-based company, which launched ChatGPT in late 2022”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia confirms OpenAI is headquartered in San Francisco. The launch of ChatGPT in late 2022 is a widely documented fact across the provided search results.
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web search NEUTRAL — OpenAI Global, LLC is an American artificial intelligence (AI) research organization consisting of a for-profit public benefit corporation (PBC) and a nonprofit foundation, headquartered in San Franci…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenAI
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web search NEUTRAL — Support Help Center More News Stories Academy Livestreams Podcast RSS Terms & Policies Terms of Use Privacy Policy Other Policies OpenAI © 2015–2026 Your privacy choices
https://openai.com/
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web search NEUTRAL — ChatGPT helps you get answers, find inspiration, and be more productive.
https://chatgpt.com/
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Claim 4: “OpenAI bars employees from selling shares within their first two years of employment”
CORROBORATED
Two separate web sources explicitly state that OpenAI requires employees to wait two years after joining before they can sell stock.
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web search NEUTRAL — Employees who got equity early on are sure to reap a windfall when the company shares hit the public markets. Often these pre-IPO shares can’t be cashed in until the company goes public, and many star…
https://sherwood.news/tech/openai-employees-cash-out-shares-…
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web search NEUTRAL — Some employees donated a portion of their shares to charitable funds, a method that allows them to give back to society while also receiving tax deductions.OpenAI requires employees to wait two years …
https://en.sedaily.com/international/2026/05/11/openai-emplo…
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web search NEUTRAL — OpenAI employees sell shares worth up to $30M each.OpenAI let employees cash out up to $30 million each in share sale last year: Report. 5 hours ago. Save for later.
https://news.google.com/stories/CAAqNggKIjBDQklTSGpvSmMzUnZj…
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Claim 5: “OpenAI employees cashed out $6.6B in stock sales last fall”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent web sources (Google News, BusinessToday, and another report) confirm that OpenAI employees cashed out approximately $6.6 billion in shares in October of the previous year.
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web search NEUTRAL — Hynix 'pales in comparison': OpenAI employees cash out $6.6 billion in stock, with 75 individuals each reaching the maximum limit of $30 million. 7 hours ago. Save for later.
https://news.google.com/stories/CAAqNggKIjBDQklTSGpvSmMzUnZj…
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web search NEUTRAL — The secondary share sale, conducted in October last year, reportedly allowed more than 600 current and former employees to cash out a portion of their holdings. The transaction valued the ChatGPT make…
https://www.businesstoday.in/technology/story/openai-employe…
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web search NEUTRAL — More than 600 OpenAI employees sold a combined 6.6 billion dollars worth of stock in a single day in October 2025, averaging 11 million dollars each. Here is how artificial intelligence is creating un…
https://www.livemint.com/money/openai-staff-cashed-out-6-6-b…
verified
Claim 6: “The latter [Elon Musk]... is currently suing the company for allegedly violating its nonprofit mission”
VERIFIED
CNBC cross-reference confirms that Musk sued OpenAI and its leadership in 2024, alleging a violation of the company's nonprofit mission.
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cross reference SUPPORTS — Musk sued OpenAI, Altman, and Greg Brockman, the company's president, in 2024, alleging that they went back on their commitments to keep the artificial intelligence company a nonprofit and to follow i…
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/04/30/openai-trial-elon-musk-sam-a…
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Claim 7: “About 75 employees maxed out their sales and received the full $30 million”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources (CoinCentral, ChainCatcher, and others) specifically state that about 75 employees reached the maximum sale limit of $30 million.
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web search NEUTRAL — In October 2025, OpenAI organized a $6.6 billion share sale for over 600 current and former employees. Around 75 of them cashed out the maximum cap of $30 million each. President Greg Brockman says he…
https://the-decoder.com/openais-internal-share-sale-minted-r…
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web search NEUTRAL — Around 75 employees sold the maximum allowed amount of $30 million each. OpenAI raised the per-employee sale cap from $10 million to $30 million due to investor demand.
https://coincentral.com/openai-employees-just-walked-away-wi…
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web search NEUTRAL — The transaction allowed eligible employees to liquidate portions of their equity holdings. Approximately 75 participants sold the maximum permitted amount of $30 million each.
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/technology/openai-…
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Claim 8: “three years prior, when a tender offer pegged its valuation at about $29 billion”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources cite a Wall Street Journal report regarding a tender offer that valued the company at approximately $29 billion.
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web search NEUTRAL — OpenAI, the artificial intelligence research lab behind chatbot ChatGPT, is in talks to sell existing shares in a tender offer that would value the company at about $29 billion, the Wall Street Journa…
https://cio.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/next-gen-techn…
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web search NEUTRAL — OpenAI Selling $300 Million at $29 Billion Valuation. Is- is the bull market back on? OpenAI was at $14 billion in 2021. Just over a year later, there's a tender offer in the works at $29 billion. At …
https://www.theneurondaily.com/p/openai-29-billion-valuation
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web search NEUTRAL — OpenAI's latest capital will put the company on the path to fast growth and accelerated profitability.OpenAI is in discussions to sell shares in a tender offer that would value the company at $29 bill…
https://bdtechtalks.com/2023/01/09/openai-tender-offer/
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Claim 9: “The company previously barred workers from selling more than $10 million in shares at a time in its tender offers, but tripled the cap to $30 million last year”
CORROBORATED
Three independent web sources confirm the cap was increased from $10 million to $30 million due to investor demand.
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web search NEUTRAL — 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 o…
https://the-decoder.com/openais-internal-share-sale-minted-r…
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web search NEUTRAL — Earlier, OpenAI had limited employee share sales to $10 million per sale, leaving many top researchers and engineers frustrated. Following this, the artificial intelligence company decided to raise th…
https://www.cnbctv18.com/technology/openai-allows-employees-…
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web search NEUTRAL — Why OpenAI increased the employee share-sale cap. According to reports, OpenAI significantly increased the maximum amount employees could sell. The internal cap reportedly rose: From $10 million. To a…
https://www.breezyscroll.com/business/over-600-openai-employ…
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Claim 10: “Elon Musk... cofounded OpenAI alongside Altman”
CORROBORATED
Five independent cross-references (Axios, CNBC, Deutsche Welle) confirm that Elon Musk and Sam Altman co-founded OpenAI in 2015.
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cross reference SUPPORTS — Altman and Musk co-founded OpenAI
https://www.axios.com/2026/05/05/musk-open-ai-idealism
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cross reference SUPPORTS — Musk, who co-founded OpenAI in 2015, sued the company, Brockman and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in 2024
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/04/musk-altman-open-ai-settleme…
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cross reference SUPPORTS — Altman and Musk founded OpenAI in 2015.
https://www.dw.com/en/us-news-suspect-in-dc-gala-shooting-to…
+ 2 more evidence sources
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.