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Neil Rimer thinks the AI money is coming back out
Index Ventures co-founder Neil Rimer warns of impending wealth redistribution in the AI era, voluntary or forced, as tech philanthropy declines and wealth concentration reaches Gilded Age levels. In a late May interview in Athens, Rimer said he has “a strong sense that there will be some sort of a redistribution” from AI-generated wealth, hoping it’s voluntary. Index Ventures, which raised roughly $15 billion from outside investors and netted about $9 billion from exits including Figma’s IPO and Google’s purchase of Wiz, reflects the scale of new fortunes. Meanwhile, the Giving Pledge is losing steam—only four signatories in 2024—and overall U.S. charitable giving participation fell to roughly half of households, down from two-thirds in 2000. California voters will decide this year on a 5% one-time wealth tax targeting billionaires; OpenAI is reportedly considering going public in 2027, partly to avoid the tax. Elon Musk became the first trillionaire after SpaceX’s IPO,