Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, executed a significant move by selling a whopping 12 million Amazon shares.
This strategic decision resulted in a substantial financial gain of approximately $2 billion.
The sale aligns with a plan outlined in February, where Bezos aims to sell a total of 50 million shares by the end of the year.
Bezos held an impressive 988 million shares, just under 10% of Amazon, at the close of December.
The entire stake was valued at a staggering $168 billion.
Amazon’s stock experienced a remarkable surge this year, leading to a substantial boost in Bezos’ estimated wealth.
His net worth saw an impressive increase of $22.6 billion, propelling him to the second position on the world’s richest people list.
At the time of this article, Bezos boasts a net worth of $200 billion.
The strategic stock sale, while reducing the gap between Bezos and Elon Musk’s net worth, positions Bezos for a potential reclaim of the title of the world’s richest person.
Before the recent stock sale, Bezos trailed Elon Musk by a modest $5 billion.
Despite Musk’s net worth rising to $209 billion in the days following, the race for Bezos to catch up is well underway.
Bezos first secured the title of the world’s richest person in 2017, surpassing the legendary Bill Gates.
This marked the beginning of a succession of title between Bezos and other formidable contenders.
Bezos maintained the position of the wealthiest man in the world from 2018 through 2021, according to Forbes’ list of the world’s billionaires.
However, in 2021, Elon Musk overtook Bezos, marking a shift in the billionaire hierarchy.
Elon Musk’s net worth has experienced a significant decline this year, amounting to a staggering $29 billion.
This decrease can be attributed to a substantial drop in Tesla’s stock and a January ruling that nullified Musk’s $55 billion compensation package at Tesla.
As of February 1, Forbes positions Musk as the second billionaire, with Bernard Arnault leading the list.
Bloomberg, which updates its rankings at the close of every trading day in New York, presents a slightly different perspective.
According to Bloomberg, Musk currently holds the top slot with a fortune of $209 billion, with Bezos trailing by approximately $9 billion and Arnault in the third position.
Musk’s wealth is predominantly tied to his holdings in Tesla, comprising approximately 13% of Tesla shares valued at around $73 billion.
The rest of his wealth is derived from investments in other ventures such as SpaceX, The Boring Company, and X.
Despite the significance of this stock sale, neither Jeff Bezos nor representatives from Amazon have provided immediate comments in response to inquiries from Business Insider.
This stock sale is not the first time Bezos has offloaded a substantial portion of his Amazon holdings.
While it is the most significant sale since 2021, Bezos sold $2.5 billion worth of shares that year as he prepared to step down as CEO.
In 2020, he divested $1.8 billion after Amazon’s stocks surged following the company’s 2019 full-year earnings call.
The recent $2 billion Amazon stock sale is not just a financial transaction; it represents a strategic move with potential long-term implications.
Bezos’ intention behind this move remains unknown, sparking speculation and interest in the business community.
As Bezos and Musk engage in this ongoing wealth race, the business world eagerly anticipates the next chapter in this intriguing billionaire saga.