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

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

According to a filing 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 around $5 billion, contingent upon their selling price. The corporation’s equity commenced trading at $191.90 per share on May 2nd, marking a decline of roughly 21% from its peak level recorded in early February.

As the executive chairman of Amazon, Bezos established the corporation 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, aged 61, sold approximately $13.4 billion worth of Amazon shares, the
Financial Times
It was reported that his sales coincided with the company’s market capitalization surpassing $2 trillion, driven by investors’ enthusiasm regarding advancements in artificial intelligence.

Over time, Bezos has slowly withdrawn from overseeing Amazon’s day-to-day activities, concentrating instead on his aerospace manufacturer Blue Origin and The Washington Post, the news outlet under his ownership. His asset divestitures have assisted in funding Blue Origin, an enterprise 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 only days after a “furious” Trump
personally called Bezos
Following reports that Amazon may show tariff costs within product listings, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt denounced the notion as a “hostile and politically motivated move.”

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

Bezos has instructed The Washington Post to concentrate more on editorials about individual freedom and free-market principles. He prevented the paper from endorsing former Vice President Kamala Harris ahead of the 2024 presidential election, leading to prominent staff departures and considerable drops in subscribers.

In April, Blue Origin attracted additional notice with its inaugural all-women mission to space. This historic flight featured six female passengers: 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, aimed at supporting early education programs.