OpenAI’s President Gave Millions to Trump. He Says It’s for Humanity
The president of OpenAI and co-founder Greg Brockman doesn’t consider himself political, which is surprising, since he was one of President Trump’s largest individual donors in 2025.
Greg and his wife, Anna Brockman, gave $25 million to MAGA Inc, a super PAC that supports President Trump, in September of last year. The two also gave $25 million to a bipartisan AI super PAC, Leading the Future, which says it wants to oppose politicians who endanger Americans’ “ability to benefit from AI.” The Brockmans have pledged to give an additional $25 million to Leading the Future in 2026, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter.
According to Brockman, these political donations serve OpenAI’s founding mission: to develop high-performance AI systems and distribute the benefits to all of humanity.
“This mission, in my opinion, is bigger than corporations, bigger than corporate structures,” he says in an interview with WIRED. “We’re embarking on a journey to develop this technology that will be the most impactful thing humanity has ever created. Getting it right and making sure it benefits everyone is the most important thing.”
Brockman’s emergence as a major political donor marks a sea change for a tech leader who until recently had no significant history of political spending. The largest donation Brockman has previously made was a $5,400 gift to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign.
Brockman says he is increasing his political spending in part because public opinion has turned against AI. A recent Pew Research Center survey suggests that Americans are “more concerned than excited about the increased use of AI in daily life.” For Brockman, this makes support for pro-AI politicians increasingly critical.
“There are a small number of politicians who, even though they realize it’s not the most popular thing, actually step forward to say, actually, we think [AI] It’s important for the country,” he said. “I think supporting them is really important. I believe this technology is important for global communities. I think it’s important for America. I think it’s important for the world. And anything I can do to make this technology benefit everyone is something I will do. In that sense, maybe supporting the team is more important than the people I work with. It’s truly the humanity of a team.
Despite his stated goal, Brockman’s donations could contribute to the negative feeling some people have toward AI. QuitGPT, a movement calling on people to cancel their ChatGPT subscriptions following Brockman’s donation to Trump, is gaining traction, with more than 700,000 people sharing the petition online or signing its pledge. On Sunday, actor Mark Ruffalo announced on Instagram that he was joining the movement.
His donations also caused some consternation within OpenAI. Although many employees understand that the company must work with government officials to develop cutting-edge technology, there is a sense that Brockman is doing more than is strictly necessary to advance OpenAI’s business. “Personally, I think Greg’s political donations probably go beyond that,” says an OpenAI researcher who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“I think there’s never a decision that everyone at OpenAI agrees with,” Brockman says when I ask what his team thinks about donations. “Even when we were ten people. We’ve always been a truth-seeking culture. We have this scientific mission of discovery, and reality doesn’t care about your own opinion. It cares about what’s true.”
OpenAI maintains that the Brockmans’ donations are strictly personal and do not reflect company policy. “The Brockmans’ gift reflects their focus on AI as a defining issue for the country and the world during this presidency,” a company spokesperson said in a statement. “They bring a unique perspective on technology and engage specifically on this issue. »
