Trump Eyes Giving Public Equity in AI Firms Like OpenAI Through Wealth Fund

President Donald Trump said on June 5, 2026, he is considering having the federal government take ownership stakes in leading artificial intelligence companies and making the American public “partners” in their profits. Speaking aboard Air Force One, Trump said the plan would “make them rich” and indicated openness to routing shares into a sovereign wealth fund for public distribution. The concept was pitched by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman as early as 2025. This week, Senator Bernie Sanders introduced a bill requiring top AI firms to hand over 50% of equity to a new U.S. AI sovereign wealth fund. OpenAI has also publicly backed a “public wealth fund” for sharing AI gains. However, the proposal faces stiff political headwinds. Trump ally and venture capitalist David Sacks warned that AI nationalization risks creating a government surveillance apparatus. Meanwhile, surging power costs from AI data centers and job anxiety are pushing Washington to prioritize wealth distribution ahead of anticipated trillion-dollar AI IPOs.