Altman's wealth ecosystem revealed: Helion's stake surges to $4.1 billion, previously drove OpenAI's $500 million investment

According to 动察 Beating monitoring, The Wall Street Journal, through court documents leaked in Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI, revealed Sam Altman's wealth cycle of driving up personal investment valuations using OpenAI commercial contracts.

Since Altman does not hold OpenAI equity, his financial returns depend entirely on external startups he personally invests in. The operation model of the wealth cycle is: OpenAI signs procurement contracts or cooperation agreements to boost the valuation of these startups, then attracts OpenAI’s major shareholders (such as Thrive Capital) or partners (such as SoftBank) to invest at a high premium, enabling Altman to directly and massively increase his individual wealth.

In June 2026, after OpenAI's major shareholder Thrive Capital invested in fusion company Helion at a $15.5 billion valuation, insiders revealed Altman’s personal stake in Helion had at least doubled to $4.1 billion. In 2025, Altman had requested OpenAI to invest about $500 million in Helion, arousing unease among some employees; OpenAI later rejected this investment. However, both sides signed a revised new partnership agreement in March 2026, and Altman resigned as Helion director that same month to avoid a conflict of interest.

In addition, after chip manufacturer Cerebras secured a chip purchasing commitment from OpenAI and successfully completed its IPO, Altman’s stake in Cerebras jumped more than sixfold compared to December 2025.

Moreover, after longevity startup Retro Biosciences reached a research collaboration with OpenAI, evidence disclosed in Elon Musk’s lawsuit showed Altman’s holding in Retro was valued at $258 million by December 2025.

Currently, at least 10 companies invested in by Altman have related-party transactions with OpenAI. The U.S. House Oversight Committee has launched a formal investigation, and several state attorney generals have called on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to scrutinize Altman.