Your OpenAI shares are worth a lot on paper. Let's turn that into a life you can actually plan.
No IPO date, tender windows that open and close quickly, and a net worth tied mostly to one private company. I'm a queer financial planner who works on equity compensation. I'll help you get clear on what to sell, what to keep, and how all of it moves you toward the life and the freedom you want.
Confidential IPO draft filed June 2026 · $7B employee tender, Aug 2026 · Updated October 2026
Book a free intro callWhat should OpenAI employees do with their equity before an IPO?
Treat each tender offer as a planning decision, not a windfall. Decide how much to sell to diversify and fund near-term goals, set aside taxes beyond the default withholding, and keep a written plan for the rest that doesn't depend on guessing the IPO date. A fee-only fiduciary can model this with your partner, family plans and cost of living.
Source: CNBC: OpenAI wraps $7 billion share sale, Aug 10, 2026
What OpenAI employees are dealing with right now
If some of these sound familiar, you're not behind. Each one is a problem a clear plan is built to solve.
No date to plan around
OpenAI has filed confidentially, but its CEO said of the IPO timing, "I would say not 2026." It's hard to plan a home purchase or a family around a date nobody can promise.
How we handle it: We build a plan that works across several timelines, including one where the IPO takes longer than you expect.
Tender windows that open and close fast
Tender offers can come with short deadlines and limits on how much you can sell. Deciding under pressure, without a plan, is how people end up regretting selling too little or too much.
How we handle it: We settle your sale amount before the next window opens, starting from what the money is for.
Equity paperwork that isn't simple
Your grants may have changed form as the company's structure changed, and the documents can be dense. It's hard to plan when you're not sure exactly what you own or how it's taxed.
How we handle it: We go through your grant documents with you and write down, in plain language, what you have and how each piece is taxed.
Your job, income and net worth all depend on one company
Your paycheck, your equity and often your professional network are all tied to OpenAI. If one thing goes sideways, everything feels it at once.
How we handle it: We build savings and investments outside OpenAI, so your life doesn't rise and fall with one valuation.
Everyone assumes you're set for life
Friends and family see the headlines and assume you're rich. Some may ask for help. For many queer people, that includes family who wasn't always supportive, which makes those requests harder to answer.
How we handle it: We decide together what you can give and to whom, so you can say yes, or no, without guilt.
Working at this pace without knowing when you can stop
The work is intense. Many people quietly wonder how much is enough to slow down, take a sabbatical or leave.
How we handle it: We calculate your number, so "enough" becomes a real figure instead of a feeling.
What's happened at OpenAI so far
Jun 8, 2026
OpenAI confidentially submitted a draft IPO registration with the SEC. (CNBC)
Aug 10, 2026
OpenAI completed a roughly $7 billion secondary sale, buying shares back from current and former employees at an $852 billion valuation. (CNBC / Bloomberg)
Sep 2026
OpenAI's CEO said of the IPO timing, "I would say not 2026." (MEXC Learn summary)
You may have access to liquidity before there's a public market. That's a real advantage, but there's no set timeline. Each tender offer is a chance to reduce risk and pay for real goals. Holding off for a future IPO is still a bet, even if you know the company well.
Why it helps to work with someone who gets it
Most advisors who work with tech employees understand stock options. Fewer understand queer families, chosen family, and the legal gaps we still plan around. I'm part of this community, so you can tell me the whole story from the first meeting. That openness is where clarity comes from, because a plan is only as good as what it's built on.
You won't have to edit your story
With a new advisor, many queer people quietly decide how much to share: who your partner is, why you don't talk to a parent, why the standard estate plan doesn't fit. Here you can start with the real version. A plan built on the full picture is the only kind that holds up.
Your partner is a full partner, married or not
If you're not married, your partner has no automatic claim to your OpenAI equity, your 401(k), or your accounts. Beneficiary designations, a will, and, where it fits, a revocable trust make sure the person you chose actually inherits what you've built.
Chosen family counts
Maybe you help support a friend, a sibling or an elder in the community. Maybe the people you'd name in your will aren't the ones the law would pick. We plan for the family you actually have, including who makes medical and financial decisions if you can't.
Family building on your own timeline
Surrogacy, IVF and adoption can run well into six figures. A liquidity event is often when queer couples can finally say yes. We match share sales to family-building costs and check your employer's fertility and family benefits first.
The cost of living where you feel safe
Many of us pay more to live where we feel safe and seen: San Francisco, Seattle, New York, LA. Those cities come with high housing costs and state income taxes. Your equity plan has to fund the life you can actually live there, not a national-average budget.
Health care that fits your life
If you or your partner are planning gender-affirming care, we budget for coverage gaps, out-of-network care and recovery time, and look at how changing jobs after a liquidity event could affect your coverage.
Where a clear plan can take you
- 01
Clarity
We bring every grant, account and goal into one picture, including your partner's. You'll know what you own, what it's worth after tax, and what it can pay for.
- 02
A written plan
We agree on rules for how much to sell, when, and why. Taxes are set aside before they're due, so nothing catches you off guard.
- 03
Freedom
Your OpenAI equity can start funding the life you want, and big decisions get easier because the hard thinking is already done.
What freedom could look like for you
A home that's yours
Buy in the neighborhood where you feel at home, with a down payment from a sale you planned, not one you rushed.
A family, when you're ready
Pay for IVF, surrogacy or adoption without draining your emergency fund or putting off the decision another year.
Staying at OpenAI because you want to
Know your number, so your job is something you choose. A sabbatical, a new role or your own company becomes a real option.
Taking care of your people
Support a partner, chosen family and the causes you care about, on terms you set and can keep up.
The details we'll work through together
How much to sell in a tender
We start with what the money is for — a home, a surrogacy journey, paying off debt, or financial independence — and work backward to a sale amount. Then we decide what to hold, with rules for when you'd sell more.
How tender proceeds are taxed
How a tender sale is taxed depends on what you're selling and how long you've held it. Some sales count as capital gains; others can be treated as compensation. We check the tender documents and your grant type before estimating the tax.
ISOs and the AMT, under 2026 rules
Exercising ISOs and holding creates an AMT preference item. For 2026 the AMT exemption is $90,100 single / $140,200 married filing jointly, and under the OBBBA it phases out faster — at 50 cents per dollar starting at $500,000 single / $1,000,000 joint. That means a large exercise can trigger AMT sooner than it did a few years ago. We model the exercise size that fits under your AMT crossover before you click 'exercise.'
The withholding gap
RSUs and tender proceeds are usually withheld at the 22% federal supplemental rate (37% above $1 million). If you're in the 32%, 35% or 37% bracket — plus California's 13.3% top rate or New York's — that gap can become a five- or six-figure April surprise. We set aside the difference the week the shares settle.
Don't plan around one IPO date
With the company saying an IPO is unlikely in 2026, we plan for several timelines. Your home purchase, family plans or sabbatical shouldn't depend on a date nobody can promise.
Too much of one company
When one stock is most of your net worth, a single bad quarter can change your plans. We build a written, rules-based selling plan — how much, when, and why — so you're not making the call on a stressful trading day. We stay neutral on the company and keep the plan focused on your goals.
Giving with appreciated shares
Donating low-basis shares to a donor-advised fund in a high-income year lets you deduct the market value and skip the capital gains. Starting in 2026, the OBBBA adds a 0.5%-of-AGI floor on itemized charitable gifts and caps the deduction's value at 35% for top-bracket filers, so timing and bunching gifts matters more than before.
Where OpenAI teams live
San Francisco Bay Area
OpenAI is headquartered in San Francisco, so most employees live in the city, the East Bay or down the Peninsula.
Seattle area
If you work with OpenAI from the Pacific Northwest, Seattle has a large LGBTQ+ community and no state income tax.
New York City
OpenAI has a New York presence, so many employees live in Chelsea, Hell's Kitchen and Brooklyn.
Every meeting is virtual, so you can work with me wherever your team sends you.
A planner who understands your life and your equity
I'm Taylor, Founder & Financial Planner at Aequitas Financial. I'm a member of the LGBTQ+ community, and I work with queer professionals whose net worth is tied up in company equity.
Aequitas is fee-only, and I act as a fiduciary. I don't earn commissions, I'm not paid by your employer, and I don't sell insurance or products. You can ask me anything, and I'll give you a straight answer, including when the answer is "I'd wait" or "that's a question for your attorney."
My goal is that you leave every meeting clearer than you came in: you'll know what we're doing, why, and what comes next.
I coordinate with your CPA and estate attorney. I'm not a CPA, so tax filing stays with your tax professional; my job is to plan ahead so their work has fewer surprises.
Questions from OpenAI employees
Keep reading: equity compensation for LGBTQ+ professionals, ISOs and the AMT, concentrated stock strategies, and other company pages: Anthropic, SpaceX, Databricks, Anduril, Stripe.
Aequitas Financial is independent and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or compensated by OpenAI. Company news above is drawn from the public sources linked and is current as of October 2026. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell any security.
This page is part of our wider guide to LGBTQ+ financial planning — how fee-only, fiduciary planning works for queer households, and which topic to start with.