San Francisco police have arrested a man accused of throwing a molotov cocktail at OpenAI CEO Sam Altman‘s $65 million home—and allegedly making threats outside of his company’s headquarters in the city.
According to a statement issued by OpenAI, the parent company of ChatGPT, the alleged attack took place in the early morning on April 10.
“Early this morning, someone threw a Molotov cocktail at Sam Altman’s home and also made threats at our San Francisco headquarters,” the statement read, as first reported by Wired.
“Thankfully, no one was hurt. We deeply appreciate how quickly [the San Francisco Police Department] responded and the support from the city in helping keep our employees safe. The individual is in custody, and we’re assisting law enforcement with their investigation.”
The San Francisco Police Department confirmed to NBC News in a separate statement that officers had responded to “a fire investigation” at an address in the North Beach neighborhood of the city at around 4:12 a.m. local time.
According to police dispatcher audio obtained by the outlet, a person could be heard saying, “Someone threw a Molotov cocktail slash sticky bomb at the gate of Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI’s residence.”
The police department said that officers who responded to the call found that an unknown man had thrown “an incendiary destructive device at a home, causing a fire to an exterior gate,” before fleeing the scene on foot.
A description of the man was then circulated to all on-duty officers in the area.
Less than an hour later, police responded to reports of “an unknown male threatening to burn down” a corporate building on the street where OpenAI’s headquarters is located. The man was identified by police as the same person who had been spotted outside of Altman’s personal address.
“When officers arrived on scene, they recognized the male to be the same suspect from the earlier incident and immediately detained him,” the police confirmed, identifying the suspect only as a 20-year-old man.
The police have noted that the investigation is ongoing and no charges have yet been made against the suspect.
Altman owns multiple properties in San Francisco, all of which are located on the same street in the Russian Hill neighborhood of the city. He purchased the compound for a total of $65.4 million over several years.
He bought the first of the four dwellings in 2020 for $27 million—and later became embroiled in a bitter and lengthy legal battle with its developer, Greg Malin, and his company, Troon Pacific, over claims that the home was “plagued by shoddy construction.”
Altman, who filed the 2024 lawsuit via the LLC through which he purchased the 1907 home, claimed in legal documents seen by Realtor.com® that Malin’s company carried out “substandard work” on the home to save money during its multiyear renovation project.
The AI mogul then snapped up three adjacent homes on the same block in January 2025, paying $12.8 million for each of the dwellings, according to records.
Those three homes are all registered to the same LLC, which is managed by Altman’s cousin, Jennifer Serralta, who also oversees the LLCs connected to his other property purchases.
Much like the OpenAI CEO’s original Russian Hill home, the properties were all built in the early 1900s and had previously been purchased together to form a large compound by their previous owners in 1994, records indicate.
While it’s understood that Altman’s lawsuit against Malin is ongoing, his decision to buy three more homes on the same San Francisco street would suggest that he is planning to turn the properties into one enormous compound—although it’s unclear what state his original dwelling is currently in.
When the lawsuit was filed, attorneys for the billionaire described the six-bedroom as a “lemon” with multiple “defects.”
“Owner … alleges that developer skimped on competent or qualified construction managers, designers, and contractors for the development of the property,” the filing stated.
The suit added that Altman had no “prior knowledge of the rancor, poor supervision, shoddy workmanship, corner-cutting, and financial embezzlement” he believes were involved in the project when he purchased the home.
Altman’s LLC “entered into negotiations to purchase what it believed to be a beautiful, luxury home in San Francisco,” it went on. “When first put on the market, it was reported to be the most expensive home listing in San Francisco history, and it seemed obvious why.”
The filing then called attention to the home’s most appealing amenities, including “stunning views,” floor-to-ceiling glass doors that provide an indoor-outdoor setting, an elevator, a garden with 100-year-old olive trees, a historic cottage, and an infinity pool that overlooks downtown San Francisco.
However, Altman’s lawyers claimed that, after buying the home, he discovered a wide range of “pervasive defects,” including issues with drainage, plumbing, waterproofing, and sewer systems.
The lawsuit stated that repairs to the home would cost more than $4 million—and noted that the LLC connected to Altman was seeking unspecified damages from Malin and Troon Pacific, as well as interest and legal fees.
Meanwhile, Altman is currently in the process of trying to offload another home, a sprawling estate in Hawaii that he listed for $49 million in August 2025, four years after quietly purchasing the property for $43 million.
The property served as the venue of Altman’s wedding to his longtime partner, Oliver Mulherin, in January 2024.
Set on a staggering 21.8 acres of “secluded luxury,” the property features a total of 10 bedrooms and 11.5 bathrooms, which are split between a main residence and a guesthouse.
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