Sanders Proposes the ‘American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act’

WASHINGTON, June 18, 2026 – Sen. Bernie Sanders , I-Vt., wants to ensure every American gets to cash in on the AI revolution.

On Thursday, the senator introduced the “American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act” to give the public a direct ownership stake in large artificial intelligence companies in America.

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“AI is built on the foundation of human knowledge of the work of millions of millions of people. Every tweet that you send out, every email that you send out, every article that you write out that’s part of AI,” Sanders, a socialist, said in a Thursday press conference. He explained that because of this, the American people should be able to benefit from the wealth of AI.

The bill proposes that the federal government impose a one-time 50 percent tax on the stock of companies that have $200 million or more in annual gross receipts and are engaged in AI activities. For large AI companies that have both AI and non-AI businesses, the public would only receive an ownership stake in the AI business.

The stock would be placed into a sovereign wealth fund that would initially pay out universal dividends to Americans and could also be used to fund social programs.

Sanders explained that the estimated funds would be worth about $7 trillion, and every American would get a $1,000 dividend check with chances for increases as AI’s value continues to increase.

The Independent Commission for Democratic AI would be created to oversee the funds, ensuring an annual dividend of 5% of its value would be used for direct payments to Americans. It would consist of 7 Commissioners who are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate based on a list of names provided by Congress.

The senator has emphasized the importance of making AI work for the people, previously calling the current economic landscape in America “much worse” than the Gilded Age.

“The goal here is to make AI work for ordinary people, not just Mr. Musk and some other multibillionaires," Sanders said.

Wall Street has seen huge profits from AI, but Americans are nervous about what the implications of the new technology are and the impact it can have on jobs and the future.

Sanders noted that he has not had any conversations with the White House regarding the bill, but he thinks that President Trump is rethinking his approach to AI.