TL;DRTrump says he will meet AI companies next week on a “partnership” plan to give Americans an equity stake. Altman first pitched the idea in early 2025. Sanders wants 50%. Critics warn government ownership would undermine AI regulation.
President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he will likely meet with AI companies at the White House next week to discuss what he called a federal government “partnership” that would let the American public profit from the industry’s success. “There are concepts where pieces could be given to the American public, where the American public essentially becomes a partner with the companies,” Trump said, adding that the programme could include sending company dividends to Americans.
The idea is not new. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman first pitched the concept of government stakes in major AI firms to the Trump administration in early 2025, and has raised it again in recent weeks. But the president’s public endorsement, combined with a parallel and far more aggressive proposal from Senator Bernie Sanders, has thrust the question of who owns AI’s economic upside into the centre of Washington’s fractured AI policy debate.
Two proposals, very different teeth
Altman’s version is voluntary. OpenAI’s April policy document proposed a “Public Wealth Fund” that would give every citizen a stake in AI-driven economic growth. Under this framing, OpenAI could donate equity to the government to seed the fund. The pitch positions the company as a willing participant, not a target.
