Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, the world’s second-richest person, is planning to sell nearly $5bn worth of shares in the company as its stock price has surged to an all-time high. This proposed sale comes as Amazon joins the exclusive club of companies with a $2 trillion valuation.
Earlier this year, Bezos sold shares worth $8.5bn after the stock rallied 80 percent. With an estimated net worth of $214.4bn, Bezos is also the founder of space company Blue Origin, which recently launched a six-person crew to the edge of space.
The planned sale of 25 million shares was disclosed in a notice filed after market hours on Tuesday, with the stock price climbing to $200.43. This marks a 30 percent increase from the beginning of the year, far surpassing the average gain in the Dow Jones Industrial Average index. Once the sale goes through, Bezos would still own about 8.8 percent of the outstanding stock, amounting to approximately 912 million Amazon shares.
Amazon’s value has been boosted by increasing demand for artificial intelligence (AI), with companies relying on its cloud computing subsidiary, Amazon Web Services (AWS), for computing power and advanced software. AWS has signed major contracts including building a “top secret” cloud for the Australian government for $1.3bn and enhancing collaboration with the United States. In addition to its cloud services, Amazon has announced plans to invest billions in expanding its cloud infrastructure in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand indicating its position as a major player in AI revolution.
Bezos’ decision to sell some of his shares comes at a time when Amazon is experiencing rapid growth and expansion across various industries including e-commerce, digital entertainment and advertising among others.
Overall, Bezos’ latest decision reflects his confidence in Amazon’s continued success and ability to generate revenue while also maintaining its position as one of today’s most valuable companies.