Jeff Bezos to sell Amazon shares worth about $5 billion after stock hits record high

(Reuters) – Amazon (NASDAQ:) founder and executive chair Jeff Bezos is planning to sell almost $5 billion worth of shares in the e-commerce giant, a regulatory filing showed, after its stock hit a record high.

The proposed sale of 25 million shares was disclosed in a notice filed after market hours on Tuesday. The stock had hit an all-time high of $200.43 during the session. It has jumped more than 30% so far this year, outpacing the 4% gain in the index.

After the sale plan, Bezos would own about 912 million Amazon shares, or 8.8% of the outstanding stock.

He sold shares worth roughly $8.5 billion in February, after the stock rallied 80% in 2023.

Bezos is ranked the second-richest person in the world with a net worth of $214.4 billion, according to Forbes. He is also the founder of space company Blue Origin, which launched a six-person crew to the edge of space in May.

Amazon posted upbeat first-quarter results in April, as the Seattle-based technology giant rode the artificial intelligence wave. The company recently replaced Adam Selipsky as the head of its cloud computing unit with insider Matt Garman.