Jeff Bezos Sells Amazon Shares in Preparation for Step Down

According to recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, almost $2 billion worth of Amazon shares has been sold by the firm’s CEO Jeff Bezos.

On Monday, Bezos sold around $1.27 billion worth of Amazon shares, which was immediately followed by another $684 million the next day. This amounts to roughly $1.95 billion in just two days.

The sales were done a week after the firm released its earnings results for the first quarter. Amazon has significantly exceeded Wall Street’s expectations as it continues to ride the e-commerce surge prompted by the global pandemic.

Filings show that these transactions were made as part of a 10b5-1 plan that permits major holders to sell a predetermined number of shares at a predetermined time.

It’s become evident that Bezos has accelerated his stock sales over previous years. In February of 2020, he sold approximately $4.1 billion worth of Amazon shares. Later in November, he was also reported to have sold Amazon shares amounting to over $3 billion.

Bezos earlier expressed that he would fund his space exploration company, Blue Origin, by selling at least $1 billion worth of Amazon stocks each year. On Wednesday, Blue Origin announced that it’s set to launch its first astronaut crew to space in the summer.

In September 2018, Bezos launched his Day One Fund, an organization that aims to provide education in low-income communities and combat homelessness. He has also set additional capital aside for this fund, which previously awarded grants amounting to $98.5 million to 32 groups last November.

Bezos hopes to put more focus on these initiatives as he steps down from his post in the third quarter. Bezos will enter into the role of executive chairman of Amazon’s board and turn the leadership over to Amazon Web Services (AWS) CEO Andy Jassy.

Source: CNBC