--- title: "Sam Altman Whines That When You Become a Billionaire, “Everyone Hates You For Everything”" description: "Not content to simply board his billions, Sam Altman is now complaining that no one is worshipping him enough for his taste." date: "2025-03-27" modified: "2025-03-27" authors: - name: "Joe Wilkins" job_title: "Correspondent" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins" url: "https://futurism.com/sam-altman-billionaire-everyone-hates" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "billionaires" - "chatgpt" - "sam altman" --- # Sam Altman Whines That When You Become a Billionaire, “Everyone Hates You For Everything” ![Not content to simply board his billions, Sam Altman is now complaining that no one is worshipping him enough for his taste.]() *\Image: Sean Gallup via Getty / Futurism\* Sam Altman — the Stanford University dropout turned VC-backed tech billionaire — just can't catch a break. Though the 39-year-old startup tycoon has multi-million dollar [mansions]() in Hawaii, San Francisco, and Napa, the [personal favor]() of president Donald Trump, and enough [luxury cars]() to make an NBA player blush, he still comes short on the one thing money can't buy: respect. After announcing a ChatGPT update that [substantially upgrades]() the service's image-generating capabilities, Altman posted a [semi-ironic status]() reflecting on the last ten years of his career. When you're Sam Altman, he claimed, "everyone hates you for everything," despite "grinding for a decade trying to help make superintelligence to cure cancer or whatever." It's a tough life for a guy worth about [$1.2 billion](), enough to give about [417,000 low-income kids]() healthcare for a year, or cover the rent for nearly 125,000 public housing units. To make matters worse, fanboys are using his AI to sloppify his face into Studio Ghibli-style memes — probably ChatGPT's most useful feature so far. When you're Altman, he whines, you "wake up one day to hundreds of messages: 'look i made you into a twink Ghibli style haha \[sic\].'" Rough break, man. It's not the first time the tech titan has blown off steam on social media. During a public spat with Elon Musk earlier this year, the ChatGPT CEO faced an onslaught of harassment from the world's richest man. "Just one more mean tweet and then maybe you'll love yourself," Altman [quipped]() at the time. He later got a little more personal, [pining that]() "probably \[Musk's\] whole life is from a position of insecurity... I don't think he's a happy person." Dueling egos notwithstanding, there's a certainly a glimmer of irony there. Whether it's enough to offset that gnawing feeling of dread the tycoon feels every day is another story. Broadly speaking, the immense influence of powerful billionaires like Altman is a symptom of [growing wealth inequality]() in the US. But when it comes to *tech billionaires*, it's evidently not enough to hoard money and influence like a feudal lord — they want to be worshipped, too. As tech critic [Stephen Moore puts it](): "instead of disappearing to enjoy a quiet life sleeping on a mattress of $100 bills, they continue to force themselves into the limelight, desperate to keep themselves relevant, desperate to feel worshipped by the bootlickers... why can't they just make their money and f\*ck off?" **More on Sam Altman:** [*Sam Altman Says OpenAI Has Run Out of GPUs*]() ## Author At Futurism, I focus on the intersection of technology and power — examining the economics, history, and politics behind today’s dystopian headlines. As a writer, I’m interested in topics ranging from AI’s impact on labor to startups nobody asked for. My prior work includes bylines in Jacobin, Verso, and Blue Labyrinths. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Forbes, The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Time, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Verge, and Wired. I grew up in Michigan, attending Central Michigan University as well as Ball State University, where I earned a master of music. I now live in Brooklyn with my girlfriend and our cat Ziti. On weekends, you can find me hunched over a cold pint arguing geopolitics with the other transplants. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()