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Jeff Bezos sold $3 billion of Amazon stock this week.
(Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Amazon’s founder and chief executive sold $3 billion worth of his shares in this pivotal U.S. election week, representing 1.8% of his total stake in the technology giant.
According to seven filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission made around the time markets closed on Wednesday, Bezos sold 998,800 shares in Amazon AMZN, +6.32% on Monday and Tuesday.
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The sale of nearly 1 million shares was made as part of a 10b5-1 trading plan, according to the SEC, which is a prearranged sale pursuant to insider trading regulations.
Bezos sold his stock within a price range of $2,951 and $3,079 per share, as Amazon was trading near all-time highs. The value of his remaining 10.7% stake in the company is more than $173 billion.
This is the third time this year that Bezos has sold a substantial stake in the company. In February, he sold nearly $3.5 billion in Amazon stock, and in August the multibillionaire sold nearly $3 billion of his shares.
The sale this week brings Bezos’ total sales of Amazon shares this year to more than $9.3 billion.
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The world’s richest man, Bezos has previously said that he sells about $1 billion of his shares in the company each year to fund his rocket startup, Blue Origin.
In February, Bezos announced that he would be donating $10 billion to a fund to fight climate change, which would give grants to nonprofits, scientists, and activists.
