Anthropic Appoints Former Fed Chair Ben Bernanke to Long-Term Benefit Trust Amid Rapid Expansion

Jul 7, 2026

Anthropic has appointed former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to its independent Long-Term Benefit Trust to help guide the company through rapid economic and corporate expansion. The Nobel laureate joins the trust as Anthropic undergoes massive growth, including leasing a 466,000-square-foot office in Manhattan to double its New York workforce to 1,000 employees. Financially, the company's valuation has reached $1.2 trillion on secondary markets following a $65 billion Series H round, prompting warnings over unauthorized share sales.

Anthropic governance and Bernanke appointment

▪Anthropic appointed former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to its independent Long-Term Benefit Trust on July 9, 2026
▪Members of Anthropic's Long-Term Benefit Trust do not hold equity in the company and are compensated only for their time and service
▪Ben Bernanke, who led the Federal Reserve from 2006 to 2014, received the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2022 for research on the Great Depression
▪Ben Bernanke joins existing trustees Neil Buddy Shah, Richard Fontaine, and Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar on Anthropic's Long-Term Benefit Trust
▪The Long-Term Benefit Trust is an independent body that advises Anthropic, oversees its responsible AI development, and has authority to appoint board members

Anthropic rapid expansion and office growth

▪Anthropic appointed federal IT veteran Teresa Carlson as its global head of public sector to lead engagement with government customers
▪Anthropic is leasing a 466,000-square-foot, 16-story office building at 330 Hudson Street in Manhattan to expand its New York City footprint
▪Anthropic plans to double its New York City workforce to 1,000 employees by the end of 2026, with space for up to 1,700 desks

Anthropic valuation and financial expansion

▪Anthropic closed a $30 billion Series G funding round in February 2026 and a $65 billion Series H round in May 2026
▪Anthropic's valuation reached $1.2 trillion on secondary trading platforms, representing a 550% year-over-year increase
▪Anthropic was valued at $965 billion in its Series H funding round and filed paperwork in June 2026 to go public

SPV structures and secondary market risks

▪Investors are purchasing Anthropic shares on secondary markets through special-purpose vehicles (SPVs), which Anthropic has publicly warned against
▪Anthropic has warned investors on its website that indirect investment offers in the company should be assumed to be invalid

Share scarcity and trading difficulty

▪Anthropic commands the majority of secondary market investor interest, drawing five buyers for every two seeking OpenAI shares
▪Secondary market transactions for Anthropic shares remain rare because demand heavily outstrips supply, with few existing shareholders willing to sell