Amazon's executive chair and founder Jeff Bezos has announced plans to sell up to 25 million shares of Amazon stock, valued at approximately $4.75 billion, according to a regulatory filing on Friday. The planned stock sale will occur through a trading plan ending May 29, 2026.
This latest divestment follows Bezos's $13.4 billion Amazon stock sale in 2024. As the world's second wealthiest person with an estimated net worth of $212 billion, Bezos trails only Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who holds a net worth of $332 billion.
The announcement coincided with Amazon's first-quarter 2025 earnings report, which showed revenue growth of 9% to $155.7 billion and profits of $17.1 billion. However, Amazon's stock declined in after-hours trading due to concerns about potential impacts from Donald Trump's trade tariffs, particularly on Chinese imports.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy addressed these concerns during an analyst call, noting uncertainty around the timing and extent of tariff implementations. The company has recently faced criticism from the White House after reports suggested Amazon considered informing customers about tariff-related price increases, though the company later clarified this idea was rejected.
The relationship between Bezos and Trump has evolved over time. While initially contentious during Trump's 2016 campaign, Bezos showed support for Trump's second administration by attending his inauguration and contributing $1 million to the inauguration fund.
Following the announcement of Bezos's planned stock sale, Amazon shares decreased nearly 1% in early Friday trading on Wall Street.