Jeff Bezos Offloads Billions in Amazon Stock as He Focusses on Politics and Space Travel

Millionaire Jeff Bezos intends to sell off large portions of his Amazon stock, potentially amounting to roughly $5 billion.

According to a filing made with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday, May 2, Bezos plans to offload up to 25 million Amazon shares. These sales are anticipated to be finished by Friday, May 29, 2026.

The shares might reach a valuation of up to $5 billion, contingent upon their selling price. The corporation’s equity started trading at $191.90 per share on May 2nd, marking a decline of roughly 21% from its peak in early February.

As the executive chairman of Amazon, Bezos established the company as an online book retailer close to Seattle back in 1994. Over the span of thirty years, his wealth has surged to approximately $212 billion, placing him just behind Tesla’s chief executive officer, Elon Musk, in terms of net worth.
Bloomberg Billionaire Index
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This isn’t the first time Bezos has experienced a stock sell-off.

In 2024, the individual, who was 61 years old, sold approximately $13.4 billion worth of Amazon shares, the
Financial Times
It was reported that his sales coincided with the company’s market value surpassing $2 trillion, driven by investors’ enthusiasm about artificial intelligence.

Over time, Bezos has progressively withdrawn from overseeing Amazon’s day-to-day activities, concentrating instead on his aerospace manufacturer, Blue Origin, along with The Washington Post, the news outlet under his ownership. His asset disposals have been instrumental in funding Blue Origin, an endeavor that allegedly requires over $2 billion annually.

Bezos has faced criticism for his concessions to President Donald Trump, whom he once called a “threat to democracy.” The billionaires have met several times in recent months and Bezos attended Trump’s second inauguration in January.

The scheduled share offering comes merely days after a “furious” Trump
personally called Bezos
, after reports surfaced that Amazon could potentially show tariff costs within their product listings. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt described this notion as a “hostile and politically motivated move.”

Following the conversation, Amazon stated that the concept was not approved. Later, Trump commended Bezos to journalists, describing him as a “good guy” and mentioning, “He solved the issue very swiftly.”

Bezos has instructed The Washington Post to concentrate more on editorial content related to individual freedom and free-market principles. He prevented the paper from releasing its support for then-Vice President Kamala Harris ahead of the 2024 presidential election, which led to notable staff departures and substantial drops in subscribers.

In April, Blue Origin attracted additional notice with its launch of an entirely female crew into space. This historic mission featured six women: pop icon Katy Perry, CBS Mornings co-host Gayle King, and Jeff Bezos’ fiancée Lauren Sánchez.

Bezos has utilized his wealth from Amazon for charitable initiatives such as the Day One Fund, which backs early education programs.