Jeff Bezos to Sell $4.75 Billion in Amazon Shares, Fueling Space Dreams and Philanthropy

In the world of billionaires, spring cleaning apparently means offloading a few billion in stock. Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s founder and executive chair, is parting ways with up to 25 million shares of the company over the next year—roughly $4.75 billion worth, which is about the same as dropping a few quarters into the cosmic piggy bank.

This move, disclosed in a regulatory filing, is part of a pre-arranged trading plan adopted in March 2025 and set to run through May 2026.

The sale follows a similar pattern: in 2024 alone, Bezos cashed out more than $13.4 billion in Amazon stock, taking full advantage of the company’s $2 trillion market cap milestone and the AI gold rush that helped drive it. Still, even after this upcoming sale, Bezos remains the company’s largest individual shareholder, holding just under 9% of all Amazon shares—plenty of skin still in the Prime game.

The money isn’t just for poolside mojitos. A large chunk is likely headed toward Blue Origin, Bezos’s passion project in space exploration, which runs a tab of over $2 billion a year. He’s also been active in philanthropy, including a recent donation of about $60 million in Amazon shares to a nonprofit.

The timing of the announcement came shortly after Amazon’s latest earnings call, which hinted at potential turbulence ahead thanks to economic shifts and global trade uncertainty. Even so, Amazon’s Q1 report was strong, with consumer demand holding steady despite the headwinds.

For Bezos, selling stock has become something of an annual tradition—right up there with launching rockets and reminding us he’s no longer CEO (but still very much in orbit). The structured trading plan is designed to avoid shaking the market, although Wall Street will surely keep a close eye on how these sales ripple through.

As Bezos continues reaching for the stars—both celestial and philanthropic—this latest move suggests that while he may be lightening his Amazon load, he’s far from done making heavy investments in his next frontiers.