Bezos sells Amazon stock for the first time this year, cashing out $737 million

According to Zhitong Finance APP, Jeff Bezos recently sold 3.3 million shares of Amazon (AMZN.US), cashing out $736.7 million. This sale is part of the 10b5-1 trading plan that Bezos submitted in March, which allows for the sale of up to 25 million shares of Amazon stock. Since then, Amazon's stock price has risen over 8% amid a general increase in the U.S. stock market. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the 61-year-old Bezos ranks as the third richest person in the world with a net worth of $241.4 billion. He frequently utilizes the 10b5-1 trading plan, having sold 75 million shares through this plan last year, totaling $13.6 billion in value. This plan allows company insiders to sell stock at predetermined times. According to data compiled by Bloomberg, since 2002, Bezos has sold approximately $44 billion worth of Amazon stock. He buys shares of his own company much less frequently, with his first purchase after 2002 occurring two years ago. Bezos often sells his Amazon shares to fund his space company, Blue Origin, which he founded in 2000. In January of this year, the company successfully launched its new flagship rocket into orbit for the first time, but a month later, it unexpectedly laid off about 10% of its workforce in an effort to cut costs. This sale marks Bezos's first sale of Amazon stock this year, but he has donated nearly 930,000 shares to nonprofit organizations in 2025. In March of this year, Bezos announced a donation of stock worth approximately $60 million to an undisclosed charity. In May, he donated stock valued at about $125 million, and in June, he donated $5 million. Bezos typically donates to his "Bezos Earth Fund," which has pledged $10 billion to combat climate change; he also contributes to the "Bezos Day One Fund," a $2 billion charitable initiative focused on helping the homeless. In recent years, he established the $100 million "Bezos Courage and Civility Award" to support philanthropists like Dolly Parton and Van Jones