Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) founder Jeff Bezos sold 12 million shares of the company this past week, marking his first sale of Amazon stock since 2021.
These transactions, conducted over Wednesday and Thursday, fetched just over $2 billion, as revealed in a recent regulatory filing.
And it’s only the beginning of Bezos’ selling spree. The company disclosed in early February that Bezos is looking to unload as many as 50 million shares over the next 12 months. Like Meta (Nasdaq: META) founder Mark Zuckerberg, Bezos is cashing in on his company’s gains. Amazon has surged over 75% year-over-year.
By the end of December, Bezos held approximately 988 million shares of Amazon, nearly 10% of the company, valuing his entire stake at around $168 billion. Throughout his tenure, Bezos has sold Amazon shares totaling over $30 billion since 2002, with $20 billion of that in 2020 and 2021 alone.
Bezos, at the time of this writing, is $9 billion shy of reclaiming the top spot from Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA) CEO Elon Musk on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Sadly, Musk may not be in a position to continue to compete, unlike Bezos and Zuckerberg, he’s seen a $29 billion decline in his net worth this year following a 27% drop in Tesla stock and a legal decision that nullified a significant compensation package for Musk at Tesla.
Information for this story was found via Reuters, Business Insider, and the sources and companies mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to the organizations discussed. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
