In a significant financial move, Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s founder and Executive Chair, has sold 24 million shares of the company this month, generating over $4 billion (£3.2 billion).
This sale aligns with his earlier plan to divest up to 50 million shares this year, with a potential total value of $8.4 billion.
The transaction, split into two parts last Friday and Tuesday, raises questions about Bezos’s long-term commitment and whether it signifies a strategic shift or portfolio diversification while he retains his role as Executive Chair.
Despite the sale, Bezos, the largest shareholder since Amazon’s inception in 1994, remains actively engaged.
Despite a nearly 70% increase in Amazon shares in the past year, Bezos, once the world’s richest person, still holds an estimated fortune exceeding $190 billion.
In 2022, he expressed his intention to donate most of his wealth during his lifetime, acknowledging the challenge of doing so in a leveraged manner.
Recent instances, such as Alibaba’s founder Jack Ma offloading shares worth $871 million last year, reflect a trend of billionaires divesting.
