Sen. Bernie Sanders, possibly just like you, has been thinking a lot about AI. The technology has the possibility of reaching into our everyday lives if it hasn’t already, and he wants to make sure Americans get some positive financial impact in addition to any other.
“AI and robotics will impact every man, woman, and child in this country,” Sanders said on a phone call with Fortune and other reporters on Thursday, pointing to the predictions that the technology will bring about massive job loss, undermine privacy rights, and worsen children’s mental health.
For weeks, the senator has been teeing up interest in his plan to give Americans 50% ownership in the biggest AI companies. On Thursday, he introduced legislation for the American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act and unveiled the details of his plan to get Americans a more direct say in the future of AI.
“AI is built on the foundation of human knowledge of the work of millions and millions of people. Every tweet that you send out, every email that you send out, every article that you write, that’s part of AI. The American people should be able to stop what’s bad and benefit from the financial gains of AI,” he said.
A sovereign wealth fund is a state-owned investment vehicle that manages national public assets. Several states, including Texas and New Mexico, have had sovereign wealth funds for decades and have used them primarily to fund education. Similarly, 67 countries have sovereign wealth funds, according to the bill, including Norway, China, and the United Arab Emirates.
AI companies that make more than $200 million in annual sales would be subject to 50% government ownership.
The plan for a sovereign wealth fund comes as Americans grow increasingly disillusioned by AI and Big Tech companies’ plans for the future. If passed, the bill would create a seven-person independent commission nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate to represent Americans’ interest in AI companies. Sanders estimates that at current valuations, the fund would be worth $7 trillion and plans to pay out yearly $1,000 checks to every American from the expected 5% dividend from the AI companies.
“I’m not a luddite. I think that AI can do some very good things,” Sanders said. “The goal here is to make AI work for ordinary people, not just for Mr. Musk and other multi-billionaires.”
Still, there’s one big hiccup to Sanders’ plan to start cutting checks to every American: many of the most valuable AI companies, like OpenAI and Anthropic, are not profitable.
“We will see what happens,” Sanders said in response to a question about what happens if these companies continue to post zero profit. “The American people are not going to lose any money, because we are going to be owning half of the stock. We’re not buying it. We’re getting it.” The bill would also force AI companies with non-AI businesses to separate their business, so the public’s ownership stake would solely be in the AI business.
Growing consensus
While Sanders’ plan is unlikely to become law, the principle behind it—that Americans should directly benefit from AI’s financial earnings—is gaining popularity.
At OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s request, he and Sanders met for nearly an hour earlier this month, soon after the senator announced his plan. Altman told Sanders he agrees that the public should have equity in AI companies but said that he couldn’t support a 50% stake.
“It’s very hard right now to talk to AI companies, whether it’s Altman and OpenAI, or anybody else, because they have a gun at our heads,” Sanders told reporters on Thursday. “They have the ability to spend huge amounts of money in campaigns to defeat any candidate who is talking about sensible regulation or actions that will benefit the public.”
When asked how his conversation with Altman went, Sanders described it as a “good discussion” and called Altman a “good politician,” but said AI companies and the everyday Americans’ interests are fundamentally not aligned at the moment.
“Their goal is to make as much money as they can, not concerned about the impact it has on the American people or people throughout the world,” he said.
President Donald Trump has similarly proposed that the government take a direct equity stake in AI companies, but the White House has not shared how much ownership they want or how they would use their stake. Semafor reported that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick also supports a sovereign wealth fund approach, while Treasury Secretary Scott favors using equity in the companies to fund Trump Accounts.
Sanders said he has not spoken to the White House about his plan. He said he’s spoken to other senators about the bill, but there are no other official co-sponsors, and Sanders did not name specific allies.
