Amazon founder Jeff Bezos sells shares worth over $4bn

Jeff Bezos, the multi-billionaire and founder of Amazon, has continued to divest his shares in the company, bringing the total value of recent sales to over $4 billion (£3.2 billion). The tech giant, established by Bezos in 1994, confirmed that he has sold 24 million Amazon shares this month alone. Serving as the firm’s executive chair, Bezos had last offloaded Amazon shares in 2021.

Earlier this month, Amazon disclosed Bezos’s intention to sell 50 million shares over the course of the next year, valued at approximately $8.4 billion based on current market prices. The initial sale of 12 million shares was disclosed in a regulatory filing on Friday, followed by another announcement on Tuesday regarding the sale of an additional 12 million shares.

In addition to selling shares, Bezos has also contributed Amazon shares to philanthropic causes, with the most recent instance occurring in 2022.

Bezos, who relocated from Seattle, Washington to Miami, Florida last year, stands to save approximately $280 million in taxes on the $4 billion worth of stock he has sold.