Billionaire OpenAI CEO Sam Altman at the Sun Valley lodge for the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference in July.
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OpenAI cofounder and CEO Sam Altman is selling his Hawaii house for $49 million, according to a source close to the matter. Public records show the 10-bedroom oceanfront mansion on Hawaii’s Big Island was put up for sale approximately two weeks ago. The listing touts “exceptional privacy” and “advanced security systems that guarantee peace and discretion.”
“It’s the most amazing property I’ve ever seen during my career,” said Sotheby’s real estate agent Brian Axelrod, who listed it. The property, built in 2011 by de Reus Architects, features a five-bedroom guesthouse, movie theater and 10 bathrooms, according to the listing. Axelrod declined to comment on how many people have toured the property, or how far it is into the sale process.
A representative of OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment or confirm that the property belongs to Altman. It’s owned by Big Surf LLC, which was formerly registered to Altman’s San Francisco house—the subject of a widely-reported lawsuit where Altman called the property a “lemon.” Big Surf is currently registered to a Greenville, South Carolina address that’s linked to Altman’s Napa Valley ranch, his Hydrazine venture capital funds, and according to the Real Deal, an LLC that scooped up three more lots near his San Francisco home in January.
Big Surf’s manager, who is listed on its annual filing, is Altman’s cousin Jennifer Serralta. Her LinkedIn says she is the COO of a family office; her name has been on a handful of other LLCs connected to Altman. Serralta declined to comment.
Altman bought the property, complete with sweeping views of Kailua Bay, the Pacific Ocean and a private marina, for $43 million in 2021. Around that time, Altman also shelled out $27 million for his San Francisco house and $16 million for his 950-acre Napa ranch. The cash likely comes not from OpenAI—one of the world’s most valuable private companies in which Altman has claimed his stake is “immaterial”—but instead from his web of angel investments that made him worth $2 billion, per Forbes estimates.
It’s unclear what, if anything, Altman might do with the sale proceeds, which come as OpenAI is reportedly selling some $10.3 billion worth of employee shares; the transaction could value the company at upwards of $500 billion. If what Altman has said about his equity in OpenAI is true, he won’t be part of that party. Once Altman sells, though, assuming that he doesn’t buy another Hawaii property with the proceeds, the island state will have one fewer billionaire landowner.
Anna Tong contributed reporting.