Jeff Bezos sold Rs 6,300 crore of Amazon shares days after getting married

India Today

a day ago

Jeff Bezos, the founder and executive chairman of Amazon, has sold a large chunk of his Amazon shares just days after his wedding to Lauren Sanchez. According to a recent regulatory filing in the US and a report by Bloomberg, Bezos sold more than 3.3 million Amazon shares, earning around $736.7 million from the deal. This translates to roughly Rs 6,300 crore in Indian currency.advertisementThis stock sale is part of a pre-planned agreement known as a 10b5-1 trading plan, which Bezos adopted in March 2025. These trading plans allow top executives and insiders to sell company shares at scheduled times to avoid any concerns about insider trading. Under this particular plan, Bezos intends to sell up to 25 million Amazon shares over a period that ends in May 2026.Bezos, who is currently the third-richest person in the world with a net worth of nearly $241 billion, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index, has made several similar share sales in the past. In 2023, he sold around 75 million shares worth $13.6 billion using the same method. He had also used such sales in previous years to support other ventures, including his space exploration company, Blue Origin.
The timing of this latest stock sale attracted attention, as it happened soon after Bezos' wedding to Sanchez in Venice, Italy. The wedding, which reportedly lasted three days, was attended by several celebrities and held at luxurious venues. The overall cost of the event was estimated to be around $50 million. Although the share sale took place around the same time as the wedding, it was not directly related to the celebration and was executed as part of his scheduled trading plan.Apart from selling shares, Bezos has also been active in giving away stock for charitable causes. In 2025 alone, he has donated nearly 930,000 shares to various nonprofit organisations. In March, he gifted shares worth about $60 million. In May, he donated more shares valued around $125 million, and in June, he gave another $5 million worth of stock. These donations were made without publicly naming the receiving charities, though in the past, Bezos has supported organisations through his own initiatives like the Bezos Earth Fund and the Day One Fund.Bezos has also publicly committed to funding Blue Origin with proceeds from Amazon share sales. Earlier this year, the company launched its latest rocket after years of development. However, it soon made headlines for cutting 10 per cent of its workforce, highlighting the pressure to manage costs even as Bezos continues to invest in space technology.advertisementInterestingly, Bezos has sold Amazon shares worth nearly $44 billion since 2002, but he has rarely bought any back. His only recorded purchase in recent years was for one share, bought at a price of $114.77, two years ago.Even though Bezos stepped down as Amazon CEO in 2021, he still plays an important role in the company as its executive chairman and remains its biggest individual shareholder. His decision to sell shares regularly helps fund both his business goals and his philanthropy, but also invites public curiosity, especially when it coincides with personal events like his recent wedding.As of now, Amazon has not issued any official comment on the share sale. The company's stock price has risen by over 8 percent since March, showing a broader upward trend in the US markets.- Ends