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President Donald Trump is reportedly considering taking government stakes in leading artificial intelligence companies — a proposal that has reportedly found supporters across the political spectrum and even within the AI industry. One prominent voice, however, is opposed: billionaire Michael Bloomberg.
In an opinion column published in Bloomberg Opinion on Monday, the former New York City mayor argued the move would endanger democracy, destroy market competition and usher in corruption.
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“Somewhere, Karl Marx is smiling,” Bloomberg wrote. “Whatever one’s view of the current administration, the possibility of government dictating and distorting AI outputs — information, data and knowledge itself — should send chills up the spine. The potential for propaganda would make George Orwell blush.”
Trump reportedly considering government ownership
The Trump administration has yet to move forward with any federal equity stakes in AI companies, but the option is being explored.
The Financial Times reported at the start of July that OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, discussed giving the U.S. government a 5% stake in its company. It also proposed other AI firms do the same. The reported discussion came after Trump said he was exploring options to give the public a stake in leading AI companies amid concerns about the impact the technology would have on the economy and the job market.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman reportedly discussed the proposed stake with the president, commerce secretary and treasury secretary. According to the Financial Times, Altman also spoke to left-leaning Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders, who has advocated that the government take a 50% stake in big AI companies.
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Bloomberg’s argument against ownership
Bloomberg says the supporters of government ownership on the left and right aren’t thinking longer-term. The billionaire is dismissing Trump’s claim that government ownership would ensure Americans benefit from AI, arguing that the benefits are already here and will only expand as the technology grows.
According to Bloomberg, continued innovation will create new AI companies, stimulating the economy and creating new jobs. As these companies go public, their profits “will be diffused even more broadly,” and the increased tax revenue to the government can go back into essential services like education and a social safety net for people who lose their jobs to AI.
“If AI companies aren’t paying into the public fisc, the answer isn’t to take ownership of them. It’s to fix the tax code,” the billionaire writes.
Bloomberg also argues that the government becoming a share-holder in the private sector is bad for market competition.
“Politics trump profits, favoritism and cronyism take root, innovation suffers, competitiveness erodes, and regulation is corrupted,” he writes.
For now, it remains unclear whether the Trump administration plans to take a stake in AI firms. If it does, the move would expand a growing portfolio of federal investments in vital industries. The administration has already begun converting federal grants into equity ownership in the critical minerals and semiconductor industries. In 2025, it took a 10% stake in Intel and a 15% holding in MP Materials. Both companies have posted strong gains.
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