Amazon.com Inc. founder and CEO Jeff Bezos is set to sell about $5 billion worth of shares in the e-commerce giant, according to a regulatory filing disclosed after market hours on Tuesday.
The announcement comes after Amazon stock hit an all-time high of $200.43 during the trading session.
The proposed sale includes 25 million shares and comes after Amazon shares have surged more than 30% this year, outpacing the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s 4% gain. After the sale, Bezos will hold about 912 million Amazon shares, or 8.8% of the outstanding shares.
The move is not unprecedented for Bezos; he sold about $8.5 billion worth of stock in February, after his shares surged 80% in 2023. Amazon’s strong performance in the first quarter, fueled by the AI trend, contributed to the company’s stock surge.
Bezos is currently the world’s second-richest person with a net worth of $214.4 billion, according to Forbes, and continues to diversify his ventures. He is also the founder of Blue Origin, a space exploration company that successfully launched a six-person crew to the edge of space in May.
