Senator Bernie Sanders proposes 50% equity tax on AI labs to fund American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund

Bernie Sanders wants to take half the stock of America’s biggest AI companies and give it to the people. That’s the core pitch behind the American A.I. Sovereign Wealth Fund Act, which the Vermont senator laid out in a New York Times op-ed on June 1.

The proposal calls for a one-time 50% stock tax on major AI firms, specifically naming OpenAI, Anthropic, and xAI as targets. The proceeds would establish a sovereign wealth fund designed to give American citizens direct ownership stakes in the technologies reshaping their economy.

What the proposal actually does

Rather than taxing corporate profits, which companies are famously creative at minimizing, Sanders is going after equity itself. A one-time 50% stock levy would transfer ownership shares from these AI firms into a publicly held fund.

This is a meaningful departure from how Washington typically thinks about tech regulation. Most proposals involve licensing frameworks, safety audits, or traditional corporate taxation. Sanders is skipping all of that and going straight for the cap table.

The broader Sanders AI agenda

In 2025, Sanders pushed for a “robot tax” to address AI-related job losses that he projected could reach up to 100 million over a decade. He’s also collaborated with Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on related measures, including a proposed moratorium on AI data center construction.

What this means for investors

For investors in AI companies, the immediate risk isn’t legislative. It’s sentiment. The mere introduction of a bill like this creates headline risk for OpenAI, Anthropic, and xAI at a moment when these firms are actively raising capital and negotiating valuations.

The proposal also raises questions about corporate structure. OpenAI’s ongoing transition from a nonprofit to a for-profit entity looks even more complicated when a sitting US senator is publicly arguing that AI companies owe half their equity to the American public. Anthropic and xAI, both private and both burning through capital on training runs, would face similar valuation headwinds if this kind of rhetoric gains mainstream support.

Sanders’ proposal contains no mention of tokens, blockchain, or decentralized technologies.

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