OpenAI CEO Sam Altman Shares Wisdom On Work-Life Balance And Career Growth In Your Twenties: 'Compound Interest Is A Good Metaphor Here'

One of the biggest names in the field of artificial intelligence, Sam Altman, the co-founder and CEO of ChatGPT-parent OpenAI, once revealed his approach to maintaining work-life balance in a person's twenties. 

What Happened: In a 2016 interview with his brother and Lattice CEO Jack Altman, the OpenAI CEO revealed his "compound interest" theory to maintain work-life balance. 

When asked about what advice he would give to others on how to achieve work-life balance in their twenties, Sam Altman said, "I think compound interest is a good metaphor here. If you work really hard at the beginning of your career and you get a little bit better at what you do every day, every week, every year, and you’ve learned more and you meet more people and you just get more done, there’s a compound effect."

He added saying, "And it’s far better to put that time in at the beginning of your career than at the end."

See Also: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman Set To Make Millions From Reddit’s IPO Despite Social Media’s Giant $60 Million Deal To Sell AI-data To Competitor Google

The OpenAI CEO went on to explain that in his professional career, he made sure to meet as many people as possible. Sam Altman also admitted that one shouldn't work all the time in their youth days because "your twenties are your twenties," but he emphasized the importance of putting hard work in the early career phase. 

"I do think you want to work harder than most people think you should and I think that if you do that you tend to benefit from it later. Life is super unfair sometimes you also just get unlucky. And so all you can do is kind of maximize chances there. But I do think that working hard early in your career to get the leverage and the compounding effects is underrated and one of the most valuable pieces of advice that I never got," he concluded. 

According to a 2023 report by Apollo Technical, in the U.S. 94% of professionals in the service industry work more than 50 hours per week. In addition, at least 48% of Americans think they are workaholics, while 72% of people consider work-life balance an important parameter while looking for a job.

Why It's Important: Earlier this month, it was reported that Sam Altman has an estimated net worth of $2 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index. However, it does not include any stake in the company he co-founded in 2015, as the billionaire has previously stated that he doesn't have equity in OpenAI. 

The primary source of Sam Altman’s wealth derives from his investments in venture capital funds and startups. He notably holds a substantial stake in Reddit, which also had its highly-anticipated IPO earlier this month. His investment portfolio is diverse, comprising $1.2 billion allocated to Hydrazine Capital and $434 million designated for Apollo Projects.

Check out more of Benzinga’s Consumer Tech coverage by following this link.

Read Next: Sam Altman’s Under-The-Radar SPAC Fuses AI Expertise With Nuclear Energy: Here Are The Others Involved

Subscribe to the Benzinga Tech Trends newsletter to get all the latest tech developments delivered to your inbox.

Image Credits – Shutterstock

Every question you ask will be answered
Scan the QR code to contact us
whatsapp
Also you can contact us via