Amazon founder Jeff Bezos
Billionaire Jeff Bezos, the founder and former CEO of Amazon, has recently sold approximately $12 million worth of Amazon shares this week. According to stock market filings, these sales occurred on Wednesday and Thursday, totaling just over $2 billion. This marks the first time Bezos has sold company stock since 2021.
On February 2, Amazon disclosed Bezos’s intention to potentially sell up to 50 million shares of Amazon over the next 12 months, capitalizing on the stock surge that has positioned him near the top of the list for the world’s richest individuals. Bezos’s fortune has surged by $22.6 billion this year alone, reaching $199.5 billion as of Friday, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
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The recent sale involved approximately 12 million Amazon shares, traded at prices ranging between $168 and $171 per share, according to documents submitted to regulatory authorities on Friday. Another document from Wednesday outlined Bezos’s plan to sell 50 million shares by July.
Forbes estimates Bezos’s fortune at $195.5 billion, making him the third wealthiest person globally, trailing behind Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH, and Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, Twitter, and SpaceX.
Bezos has sold over $30 billion in shares since records began in 2002, including approximately $20 billion combined in 2020 and 2021. He has also been actively donating shares, including around $230 million worth of shares gifted to nonprofit organizations in November.
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Amazon recently announced impressive financial results on February 1, exceeding expectations with a turnover of $170 billion and a net profit of $10.6 billion. The company’s stock surged more than 13 percent on the New York Stock Exchange the following day.
This move by Bezos to offload Amazon shares comes amidst his ongoing diversification of investments and wealth management strategies, as he continues to navigate his position as one of the most influential figures in global business and technology.
