Jeff Bezos is selling 50 million Amazon shares this year — could this mean big changes to come?

(Image credit: bbc)

In a recent filing (via Reuters), Amazon founder Jeff Bezos announced plans to sell up to 50 million shares in the company before January 31, 2025.

The shares, currently valued at around $8.6 billion based on the current share price of $171.80, will be sold as part of a plan that was first outlined in November 2023.

Amazon shares rose by around 8% after the company announced its most recent quarterly earnings, which had been higher than anticipated.

Jeff Bezos to sell $8.6 billion Amazon shares

After peaking in the months that followed the pandemic thanks to a surge in online retail, Amazon’s shares more than halved to pre-pandemic levels in late 2022. With company profits booming once again as a result of cloud computing and artificial intelligence, share prices are quickly approaching an all-time high.

Jeff Bezos, who founded the company as a palace to buy books in 1994, handed over his position as CEO to Andy Jassy in 2021. Bezos continues to be an executive chairman for the company, and holds 988 million shares (via Nasdaq).

Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index places Bezos as the world’s second wealthiest man, with a total net worth of an estimated $197 billion, behind only Elon Musk ($205 billion). Other tech titans in the top five include Mark Zuckerberg ($170 billion) and Bill Gates ($145 billion).

The decision to sell 50 million shares raises questions about Bezos’s future financial strategies and interests. As Amazon continues to evolve and expand, his move to divest a portion of his holdings indicates a fairly sizeable shift in his portfolio.

Nasdaq also reported that Bezos sells around $1 billion in company stock each year to give liquidity to his space ventures company, Blue Origin, which has been upping the ante against Musk’s SpaceX in recent months, including the launch of its rival satellite internet service.

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With several years’ experience freelancing in tech and automotive circles, Craig’s specific interests lie in technology that is designed to better our lives, including AI and ML, productivity aids, and smart fitness. He is also passionate about cars and the decarbonisation of personal transportation. As an avid bargain-hunter, you can be sure that any deal Craig finds is top value!