Amazon founder and executive chairman Jeff Bezos is poised to sell nearly $5 billion worth of stock in the e-commerce giant, according to a regulatory filing disclosed after trading hours on Tuesday.
This announcement comes after Amazon’s shares hit an all-time high of $200.43 during the trading session.
The proposed sale involves 25 million shares and follows a significant rally that has seen Amazon’s shares rise more than 30% this year, easily outpacing the 4% gain in the Dow Jones Industrial Average index. After the sale, Bezos will still retain approximately 912 million Amazon shares, representing 8.8% of the outstanding shares.
This move is not unprecedented for Bezos; he sold shares worth about $8.5 billion in February, following an 80% stock rally in 2023. Amazon’s strong first-quarter performance, buoyed by the artificial intelligence trend, contributed to this stock surge .
Currently ranked as the second richest person in the world with a net worth of $214.4 billion by Forbes, Bezos 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.