Bezos sells $4B worth of Amazon stock in 4 days
What's the story
Jeff Bezos, Amazon's founder, has sold 24 million shares, earning over $4 billion. As per Bloomberg, this is Bezos's first share sale since 2021. It follows his announcement to sell up to 50 million shares within a year. Interestingly, Bezos—currently the world's second most richest person—sold almost half of that number in just four trading days.
Growing wealth
Amazon's share price performance and Bezos's wealth
Amazon's online sales have surged, with the stock price rising by nearly 8% to $172, marking the highest growth since the pandemic began. This increase added $12.1 billion to Bezos's wealth in one day, putting him just $8.1 billion behind Elon Musk, the world's richest person with a net worth of $202 billion, per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Bezos last held the coveted title in 2021.
Saving taxes
Bezos relocates from Washington to Florida to potentially save taxes
While the reason for Bezos's share sale remains undisclosed, he recently relocated from Washington's Seattle to Florida's Miami. Florida doesn't impose a capital gains tax, unlike Washington state's 7% tax introduced in 2022. This relocation could save Bezos around $288 million. Bezos isn't the only tycoon who is miffed with Washington's tax regime. Billionaire Ken Fisher stated in March that he would relocate from Washington to Texas to save taxes.