Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has sold off $176.3 million worth of stock in the streaming service this year, as the company’s shares have surged by approximately 60% year to date. The sales come after a separate sale of 250,000 shares worth $57.5 million in February.
The surge in Spotify’s stock value comes despite the company having to make significant staff cuts of 1,500 employees in December, with Ek acknowledging that the layoffs were more impactful than anticipated as part of a total of 2,500 job cuts in 2023.
Ek is not alone in selling off shares in his company during a period of tremendous growth. Tech executives like Jeff Bezos, Jamie Dimon, and Mark Zuckerberg have also sold billions of dollars’ worth of stock in their respective companies, as shares of Amazon, JPMorgan and Meta have swelled.
Spotify’s executive team and its former CFO Paul Vogel have also sold tens of millions of dollars in stock this year. It is unclear if these sales are related to the recent surge in stock value or if they are simply part of ongoing diversification efforts.
Spotify has not yet responded to any questions regarding these sales from Business Insider.
