Amazon founder Jeff Bezos plans to sell up to 25 million company shares worth about $5 billion, according to a recent Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing. The notice was filed after market hours on July 2, when Amazon’s shares closed at a record high of $200 – the highest since its 1997 listing.
After the sale, Bezos would still hold nearly 912 million shares in the company, or about 8.8 percent. The businessman sold 50 million Amazon shares in February.
Bezos founded Amazon in 1994 as a bookselling company. Later, it grew into an e-commerce empire spanning virtually all product categories. He stepped down as Amazon’s chief executive in 2021 but remains its executive chair and biggest shareholder. He also owns the space exploration company Blue Origin and the Washington Post.
