Jeff Bezos Sells 900K Amazon Shares, Stake Drops From 16% To 12%

The world's richest man and Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN CEO Jeff Bezos sold around 900,000 shares of the company he founded at around $1,900 each, according to Forbes.

What Happened

Bezos collected around $1.8 billion in cash from selling about 900,000 shares of Amazon's stock in the last three days of July, according to a regulatory filing.

His proceeds after taxes are likely to come in at around $1.4 billion, likely part of a divorce settlement with his ex-wife MacKenzie.

To date Bezos has given MacKenzie 25% of his stake in Amazon, or just shy of 20 million share, Forbes said. 

Her stake in Amazon stands at around $36.8 billion, which makes MacKenzie the third-richest woman in the world.

Why It's Important

As part of the divorce settlement, Bezos will retain the voting power associated with shares transferred to MacKenzie.

This should ease some investor concerns over potential public disagreements over Amazon's business.

Bezos' stake in Amazon has now fallen from 16% to 12%. He is still the single largest shareholder, with 58.1 million shares.

What's Next

It is not made clear in the regulatory filing if or when Bezos will transfer additional shares to his ex-wife in the future.

Amazon stock was down 1.05% at $1,842.22 at the time of publication Thursday. 

Related Links:

Bezos Divorce Finalized: MacKenzie Will Get 4% Of Amazon, Give Up Voting Control

Amazon Reports Mixed Q2 Earnings

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