Jeff Bezos Sells 24 Million Amazon Shares Worth Over $4 Billion

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos attends the Amazon Prime Video's Golden Globe Awards After Party at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. on Jan. 6, 2019. Emma McIntyre/Getty Images

Billionaire Jeff Bezos has sold more than $4 billion of his shares in Amazon this month as the e-commerce giant’s stocks surged, new regulatory filings show.

Mr. Bezos, 59, has sold roughly 24 million shares in the past month, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The first sale of roughly 12 million shares was announced in a regulatory filing published on Feb. 9. Mr. Bezos sold another 12 million shares on Feb. 12, according to the filing.

It marks the first time the Amazon founder and executive chairman has offloaded the company’s stock since 2021, the same time he stepped down from the company to focus on other projects, including the rocket startup Blue Origin.

It also comes after Amazon revealed earlier this month that Mr. Bezos plans to offload 50 million shares in the company before Jan. 31, 2025, under a sale plan adopted in November last year.

Mr. Bezos, one of the richest people in the world, founded Amazon in 1994.

He has not given a reason for the sale. The businessman announced in November last year that he was moving from Seattle to Miami, following in the footsteps of a string of other high-profile billionaire entrepreneurs who have relocated to Florida, including billionaire investor and Citadel founder Ken Griffin and Eric Schmidt, former chairman and CEO of Google.

Bezos Moves to Florida

In an Instagram post announcing the move, the businessman said he wanted to be closer to his fiancée Lauren Sanchez, and his parents, who he said had recently moved back to Miami.

“I’ve lived in Seattle longer than I’ve lived anywhere else and have so many amazing memories here,” Mr. Bezos wrote. “As exciting as the move is, it’s an emotional decision for me. Seattle, you will always have a piece of my heart.”

The Amazon founder noted that Blue Origin’s operations are increasingly shifting to Cape Canaveral, in Florida.

“For all that, I’m planning to return to Miami, leaving the Pacific Northwest,” Mr. Bezos said.

According to Bloomberg, Mr. Bezos will likely save around $288 million in tax on the $4 billion worth of stock he has just sold after moving to Miami, as Washington state instituted a 7 percent capital gains tax in 2022. Florida does not have state taxes on incomes or capital gains.

The billionaire businessman will, however, still have to pay federal taxes after selling the shares.

Mr. Bezos—who is worth $190.2 billion according to Forbes—remains Amazon’s largest individual shareholder, holding just under 10 percent of the stock.

His stock sales came as shares of Amazon were up roughly 13 percent. The e-commerce giant’s stock is up nearly 70 percent on a yearly basis.

Mr. Bezos has also given away some of his shares in Amazon, including gifting roughly $240 million worth of Amazon shares last November to nonprofit organizations, according to financial filings.

The Epoch Times has contacted Amazon for further comment.