Amazon founder Jeff Bezos sells shares worth over $4bn
Billionaire Jeff Bezos has divested more of his Amazon shares, resulting in recent sales exceeding $4 billion (£3.2 billion).
Bezos, the founder of the tech giant in 1994, has offloaded 24 million Amazon shares this month. Serving as the company’s executive chair, Bezos’ previous share sell-off occurred in 2021.
Earlier in the month, Amazon disclosed Bezos’ intention to sell 50 million shares over the upcoming year, valued at approximately $8.4 billion based on current market rates. The initial sale of 12 million shares was reported in a regulatory filing on Friday, followed by an additional 12 million shares announced on Tuesday.
Bezos has also allocated Amazon shares to charitable causes, with the most recent occurrence in 2022. Having relocated from Seattle, Washington, to Miami, Florida, last year, Bezos stands to save roughly $280 million in taxes on the $4 billion stock sale.
In Washington state, gains exceeding $250,000 from share sales or other long-term investments are subject to a 7% tax rate, whereas Florida imposes no state taxes on incomes or capital gains. However, Bezos remains liable for federal taxes resulting from the share sales.
When Mr Bezos announced his move to Florida it prompted speculation over whether it was because of a potential tax bill he would have faced in Washington after the state approved a new tax on large stock sales.
His sales of Amazon shares come after they have risen by almost 70% in the past year.
Mr Bezos said in November that his parents had recently moved back to Miami where he spent some of his childhood and that he wanted to be close to them and to his Blue Origin space project, which was “increasingly shifting to Cape Canaveral”.
“Lauren and I love Miami,” he wrote on Instagram, referring to his fiancée Lauren Sánchez.
“For all that, I’m planning to return to Miami, leaving the Pacific Northwest,” he added.
Mr Bezos remains Amazon’s biggest shareholder and is one of the richest people in the world, with an estimated fortune of more than $190bn.
