Jeff Bezos Plans $5B Amazon Share Sale

Photo by Marques Thomas on Unsplash

Jeff Bezos Plans $5B Amazon Share Sale

July 4, 2024

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has announced his plans to sell $5 billion in the company’s stock, in a move that comes shortly after Bezos revealed his move from Washington State to Miami, Florida.

The BBC reports that the billionaire will be selling 25 million shares of the retail giant, which adds up to a total worth of about $5 billion. This marks the first time Bezos has sold Amazon stock since 2021.

The sale of the stocks comes after it was announced that shares of the company have increased by more than 30% this year due to hopes that rising demand for artificial intelligence (AI) technology will increase revenues in the company’s cloud computing segment.

For the first time, Amazon’s stock market capitalization crossed the $2 trillion threshold last month. That still lags behind other significant tech companies like Microsoft, Apple, and Nvidia, all of which have generated revenue above $3 trillion.

Bezos stepped down as the company’s CEO back in 2021 but remains the company’s largest shareholder. This status remains even after this most recent stock sale. Bezos is also the second-richest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of $214 billion.

Meanwhile, Amazon continues to offer discounts to its customers, in this case for Independence Day.

Prime members can access the Just for Prime portal to get exclusive discounts. Some of the best member-only holiday deals are on HexClad cookware, power strips, and electric toothbrushes, which are as much as 91% less than their usual retail costs. Non-members can sign up for a free trial of Prime in order to take advantage of these savings and browse even more incredible deals at Amazon Prime Day in two weeks.

The Fourth of July is one of the busiest shopping days of the year because it happens just two weeks before Prime Day this year. There are discounts available in almost every category, even ones that don’t get as much attention on Prime Day.

Given that both events are offering some of the lowest prices of the year, it’s possible that the two sales, coupled with Walmart’s anti-Prime Day sale, will combine into one enormous bargain fiesta during the first part of July.