Published Aug. 20, 2026at6:00am
When OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was the victim of back-to-back attacks on his San Francisco home this spring, including a Molotov cocktail hurled at his front gate, it was the worst nightmare come to life for a certain echelon of Bay Area homeowners.
The Russian Hill mansion has been somewhat of a curse for Altman, who gained widespread attention in 2024 when his team filed a lawsuit against the builder, claiming he’d purchased a “lemon.” Once someone’s name is publicly tied to a property, the risks ratchet up.
“Visibility is seen as a liability,” said real estate agent Ken DeLeon (opens in new tab). “The inherent desire for privacy has been accelerated because of the controversy around AI.”
DeLeon and other agents who work with the ultra-wealthy are tailoring their services and advice to a new class of AI elite who put a premium on keeping home purchases private. This secrecy-as-a-service approach affects the entire life cycle of a sale, from the moment a property goes on the market through its renovation period to staffing it with private security.