The US government wants a cut of the AI boom. And not through taxes, but through actual ownership.
Senior officials have been in active discussions with major AI companies about acquiring equity stakes on behalf of the public, a move that could eventually result in dividend payments to American households. The talks, first reported by NOTUS on June 4, 2026, represent one of the most ambitious proposals yet to ensure that the economic windfall from artificial intelligence doesn’t remain concentrated in the hands of a few Silicon Valley shareholders.
On June 5, 2026, President Trump confirmed the White House is examining the possibility of these stakes. The goal, at least on paper: make sure ordinary Americans benefit from AI’s rapid advance.
How we got here
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has been pitching this concept since early 2025, discussing it directly with Trump and revisiting it with senior administration officials throughout Trump’s second term.
