Bad analogy. Sam has no stock in OpenAI or any sort of formal controlling interest. His power is solely informal: his own talents and abilities and the loyalty of the other employees. Regardless of the truth of the matters, the episode is a perfect example of the limits of formal authority and how informal or "soft" power can be even more effective in shaping events

Did you read the article which points out specifically that he is financially incentivized?

Only in the innovation fund thing, not the company at large (going solely off the article)

The point is that board coups are a concept that people are already familiar with, so its not surprising that they thought of it when this similar situation happened.