Bezos plans to sell more than 4 billions dollars worth of Amazon shares, with the first batch already cashed out at 350 millions dollars.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is accelerating the cash-out of his core assets. As Amazon's share price hits an all-time high, Bezos has completed his first batch of stock sales this year, cashing out nearly $350 million—a move that is only the start of a much larger divestment plan.

According to regulatory filings disclosed after Wednesday's market close, the number of shares Bezos sold this time is only a small part of his planned sales revealed in a separate filing two days earlier—which showed he plans to sell up to 15 million Amazon shares, worth over $4 billion in total.

Amazon's stock price has surged more than 20% since the start of this year. Last week, thanks to strong cloud computing revenues, the company became the fifth in the world to reach a $3 trillion market capitalization.

The large-scale reduction has not shaken Bezos’ position as the largest shareholder. After this sale, he still holds 8.16% of Amazon’s shares, remaining the company’s largest single shareholder. Meanwhile, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Bezos’ personal wealth has increased by $3.87 billion this year, totaling $292 billion.

First cash-out: Precision move at a record stock price

The timing of Bezos’ share sale has drawn significant attention. Regulatory filings show these transactions were executed on August 3, when Amazon’s stock price was at a historic high. This sale of nearly $350 million worth of shares marks Bezos’ first reduction in holdings this year.

Two days earlier, Bezos had already disclosed his intention to sell a larger amount through a separate filing—up to 15 million shares worth over $4 billion at the current share price. The number of shares actually sold so far is only a small fraction of the planned upper limit, leaving considerable room for further sales ahead.

Bezos’ pace of share reduction has clearly accelerated in recent years, in sharp contrast with the infrequent moves of his early career. From Amazon’s IPO in 1997 through 2020, he sold less than $10 billion in stock in total; just from 2020 to now, sales have exceeded $38 billion.

The activity has been especially intense in 2024—across nine consecutive trading days, Bezos cashed out over $8.5 billion. Entering 2025, he also contributed more than $1 billion worth of Amazon shares via stock donations to nonprofit organizations.

According to Bloomberg, Bezos’ massive cash-outs are closely tied to his increasingly high-profile personal consumption and business investments in recent years.

After relocating to Florida at the end of 2023, Bezos spent over $230 million on real estate in the Miami area, and reportedly ordered a 417-foot superyacht costing about $500 million.

Meanwhile, Blue Origin, the aerospace company he founded in 2000, is conducting its first round of external financing, with a valuation reaching $130 billion. Previously, Blue Origin had relied entirely on Bezos’ personal funds. This introduction of outside capital marks a new stage for the company’s development.