Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com, has offloaded approximately 12 million shares of the online retail and cloud services giant, netting around $2 billion, according to a company filing on Friday. This move comes shortly after Bezos announced earlier this month his intention to sell up to 50 million shares over the next year.
The sale took place on Wednesday and Thursday, February 8th and 9th, as disclosed in the filings. Bezos had previously outlined plans to divest his shares on February 2nd, potentially leveraging a surge in stock prices that positioned him close to reclaiming the title of the world’s richest person.
Amazon’s latest annual report indicates that the sale plan was initially approved on November 8, 2023, with some modifications, and is expected to conclude by January 31, 2025. Since record-keeping began in 2002, Bezos has sold shares worth over $30 billion, with $20 billion traded in 2020 and 2021 combined. Notably, his focus has been on stock gifts, with donations totaling around $230 million to non-profit organizations in November alone.
Establishing Amazon as an online retailer in 1994, Bezos stepped down as CEO in 2021 to assume the role of executive chairman. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, he currently holds the position of the second richest person globally, boasting a net worth of $199.5 billion as of Friday. This marks a substantial increase of $22.6 billion this year.
