Anthropic CEO Warns AI Wealth Concentration Could Break Society as Cofounders Pledge 80% of Fortune

Anthropic's billionaire cofounders are giving away 80% of their wealth: 'The thing to worry about is a level of wealth concentration that will break society' | Fortune

Now, the billionaire tech titan behind Claude is sounding the alarm that there's an even bigger danger coming for the everyday worker. "The thing to worry about is a level of wealth concentration that will break society," Amodei wrote in a letter published yesterday. Already, he noted, Elon Musk's nearly $700 billion net worth exceeds that of John D. Rockefeller at the height of the Gilded Age; and that, Amodei argued, is before most of AI's economic impact has even materialized. Against that backdrop, all seven of Anthropic's cofounders -- including Dario and his sister, Daniela Amodei -- are pledging to donate 80% of their wealth. Each cofounder's net worth is estimated at about $3.7 billion, according to Forbes, though that figure does not account for recent fundraising talks that reportedly valued Anthropic at $350 billion -- nearly double its prior $183 billion valuation. Based on this estimate alone, the pledge could direct tens of billions of dollars toward philanthropy. Other Anthropic employees have also committed to donating shares that could be worth billions, with the company saying it will match those contributions. As the future of work is questioned, billionaire wealth is soaring to record highs While there have long been worries about rising wealth inequalities in the world, the AI boom is only raising the stakes. Anthropic, which launched ChatGPT rival Claude in March 2023, is a case study itself. In spring of that year, the company was already valued at $4.1 billion. But less than three years later, its valuation grew 87-fold to its current $350 billion figure. In the same period, OpenAI has surged to a $750 billion valuation and become a household name. These soaring valuations are minting new billionaires at record speed. Last year alone, billionaire wealth jumped by 16% to $18.3 trillion -- the highest level in history, according to Oxfam. Amodei warned these wealth dynamics may eventually force a fundamental rethink of work and income. "In the long term, in a world with enormous total wealth, in which many companies increase greatly in value due to increased productivity and capital concentration, it may be feasible to pay human employees even long after they are no longer providing economic value in the traditional sense," Amodei wrote -- adding that his company is considering a range of pathways for Anthropic employees. Elon Musk has echoed these predictions that technology's rapid innovation will completely change the workforce -- and cause a need for "universal high income" to sustain individuals. "My prediction is that work will be optional. It'll be like playing sports or a video game or something like that," Musk said in November at the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum. "If you want to work, [it's] the same way you can go to the store and just buy some vegetables, or you can grow vegetables in your backyard. It's much harder to grow vegetables in your backyard, and some people still do it because they like growing vegetables." Anthropic's seven cofounder billionaires * Dario Amodei, $3.7 billion * Daniela Amodei, $3.7 billion * Tom Brown, $3.7 billion * Jack Clark, $3.7 billion * Jared Kaplan, $3.7 billion * Sam McCandlish, $3.7 billion * Christopher Olah, $3.7 billion Estimates according to Forbes; their net worths are likely to increase with Anthropic's growing valuation. The ultra rich have an 'obligation' to address wealth disparities, according to Amodei While leaders debate what the future of work could look like, Amodei stresses that action is needed now. "Wealthy individuals have an obligation to help solve this problem," Amodei wrote. "It is sad to me that many wealthy individuals (especially in the tech industry) have recently adopted a cynical and nihilistic attitude that philanthropy is inevitably fraudulent or useless." Many tech leaders, including Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, and Larry Ellison, have already signed The Giving Pledge -- the initiative launched by Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates, and Warren Buffett to give the majority of their wealth to charitable causes. But critics have noted that not most signers have not followed through with their promise yet. Last year, reports suggested billionaire investor Peter Thiel encouraged Musk to abandon The Giving Pledge, arguing Gates would otherwise give the money "to left-wing nonprofits. Ultimately, Amodei said many near-term solutions are just ways to manage a transition rather than stop what's coming. "In the end, AI will be able to do everything, and we need to grapple with that," Amodei said. "It's my hope that by that time, we can use AI itself to help us restructure markets in ways that work for everyone, and that the interventions above can get us through the transitional period." Fortune reached out to Anthropic for further comment.

This AI CEO Says Inequality Will Skyrocket -- and Wants the Most Powerful to Pay More

In Amodei's essay, titled "The Adolescence of Technology," he wrote that in an ideal world, the global GDP could grow by an annual rate of 10 to 20 percent. But will everyone on Earth share in that abundance? Possibly not. Amodei believes it will be more difficult for humans to adapt to a world with powerful AI than it was for previous generations to largely shift from physical, farm-based labor to knowledge work. Because of this, the Anthropic founder predicted that within the next one to five years, 50 percent of entry-level white collar jobs will be disrupted by AI. One possible result of this disruption is extreme wealth concentration among a very small group. Amodei compared the situation to the United States' Gilded Age. He wrote that the wealth of John D. Rockefeller, the richest man of the era, amounted to around 2 percent of the U.S. GDP. "A similar fraction today would lead to a fortune of $600B," Amodei wrote, "and the richest person in the world today (Elon Musk) already exceeds that, at roughly $700B." While today's wealth gap might feel vast, Amodei cautioned that it could become exponentially worse as AI-related companies begin generating trillions of dollars in revenue per year. "In that world," Amodei wrote, "the debates we have about tax policy today simply won't apply as we will be in a fundamentally different situation."