Tech

Jeff Bezos dumped $1.8 billion in Amazon stock after its share price skyrocketed

Jeff Bezos Amazon
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo
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As Amazon's share price soared last week, Jeff Bezos cashed in a tonne of shares.

SEC filings first spotted by CNBC show Bezos started selling off his shares according to a pre-arranged sales plan starting on January 31 and going through to February 3. In total he dumped 905,456 shares, meaning a gain of $1.84 billion.

Amazon's share price spiked following the company's 2019 full-year earnings call on January 30, when it reported earnings far above Wall Street's expectations. The company cracked a market cap of $1 trillion after the publication of its earnings, a feat it first managed in September 2018. The surge in Amazon's share price increased Bezos' personal wealth by $13.5 billion.

Bezos has been known to make similarly massive shares sales in the past. In July and August 2019 he sold almost $3 billion, and the billionaire said in 2017 that he sells at least $1 billion in shares per year to funnel into his space exploration company Blue Origin.

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Isobel (she/her) was a senior tech reporter at Business Insider. She was particularly interested in Big Tech, privacy, and worker's rights. You can read some of her previous work here: The quest to find $181 million in bitcoin buried in a dump Exclusive: Amazon targeted military spouses in a pandemic recruitment drive. 2 of them say they ended up being paid 33% less than non-military coworkers. Exclusive: Amazon plans a pay cut of up to 23% for hourly workers who guide trucks in and out of its UK delivery stations Exclusive: Tesla's solar division asks employees to scour social media for complaints about both the company and Elon Musk, trying to get customers to delete their posts, former employees say A couple says their Tesla Solar panels caused relentless leaks that led to mold 10 times the healthy limit, $115,000 in damages, and a long-running legal battle Ghosted by Tesla: Customers say Tesla's ultrasleek, expensive Solar Roofs and panels come with nightmare customer service, often leaving them with unanswered calls and emails for months on end Amazon workers leading a historic push for unionization in Alabama describe midnight 'education' meetings, an unexpected mailbox, and streams of anti-union flyers as they go up against one of the world's most powerful companies 'It's a slap in the face': Amazon is handing out 'Thank you' t-shirts to warehouse workers as it cuts their hazard pay Investigation: Amazon warehouse employees speak out about the 'brutal' reality of working during the holidays, when 60-hour weeks are mandatory and ambulance calls are common The science behind Elon Musk's brain-chip company Neuralink Investigation: Instagram's new TV service recommended videos of potential child abuse