Jeff Bezos Capitalises On Amazon Stock High To Lock In Gains
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has sold €3.75bn worth of shares as he trims his stake in the online retail giant, writes Leah Montebello.
He dumped 24m shares over four trading days, offloading 12m on Friday and 12m yesterday, the first time he has sold shares since 2021, when he quit as chief executive.
Bezos, 60, founded Amazon in 1994, growing it from an online bookshop to a global marketplace.
The world's second-richest man - worth an estimated €180bn - recently said he was planning to sell 50m shares, worth around €7.8bn at current prices, over the next year.
Bezos has already given away shares worth around €222m as part of his charity efforts, most recently in 2022.
Since stepping down as chief executive, Bezos has been focusing on a space venture called Blue Origin.
In October, he said he was moving to Miami from Seattle to be near his parents and Blue Origin's operations.
"Blue Origin needs to be much faster. And it's one of the reasons that I left Amazon a couple of years ago," he said in December.
The billionaire, who also owns The Washington Post newspaper, did not disclose why he sold the Amazon shares but it comes amid a rally on the US stock market.
Shares are up nearly a fifth in the past six months and were recently lifted by a bumper Christmas.
This helped the online retail giant post stellar figures for the year, with sales hitting €527bn in 2023, up from the €471bn the previous year.
Sales in the Christmas quarter reached €155bn. Bezos remains Amazon's biggest shareholder and is the firm's executive chairman.
It is understood that his move to Florida will reportedly save hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes.
Photo: Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez attend the 10th Annual LACMA Art+Film Gala on Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021 in Los Angeles, CA. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
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