Breaking

Sanders Floats Bill for 50% Equity Tax on Major AI Firms

June 17, 2026 at 16:48 EDT

Policy & Regulation
Foundation Models

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (Independent, Vermont) on June 1, 2026, previewed the "American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act," which would impose a 50% tax payable in stock on major AI companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic and xAI and transfer those shares to a public fund owned by the American people. The plan was laid out in a guest essay for the New York Times, and the same day Sanders said in a video message that he would formally introduce the legislation "in the coming weeks."

June 2026 · Legislative Proposal

Sanders Wants the Public to Own Half of Big AI

The proposed "American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act" would transfer 50% of the stock of leading AI firms — OpenAI, Anthropic, xAI — into a federally managed fund, paying citizens a dividend and financing health, education and housing.

50%

of major AI companies' stock, transferred as a one-time "tax"

~$7T

estimated size of the resulting sovereign wealth fund

$200M

annual AI revenue threshold cited for covered firms

Ownership of the major AI firms, after the proposal

Each block = 10% of company equity

Proposed split

Public fund — 50%

Existing owners — 50%

How the mechanism would work

Equity tax

Firms pay in their own shares, not cash

→

Sovereign fund

Gains voting shares + equal board seats

→

Returns to public

Citizen dividend + health, education, housing

Supporters

AI is built on humanity's collective knowledge used "without permission or compensation." The wealth should flow to workers — and AI firms themselves have floated similar fund ideas. Cited precedents: Norway's $2T+ oil fund and Alaska's Permanent Fund Dividend.

Critics

Taking half the stock is described as a "seizure," raising sharp concerns over property rights and government control of companies. One critique argues the plan "doesn't understand AI or wealth."

Still a proposal. The full bill text is unpublished; figures and scope are current projections. Sanders expects to introduce it in the "coming weeks" — it has not been formally filed or passed.

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