Jeff Bezos, the founder and former chief executive of Amazon, has disclosed plans to sell up to $4.75 billion worth of shares in the e-commerce giant over the next 12 months, according to regulatory filings released Friday.
The planned sale of up to 25 million shares, set under a pre-arranged trading plan, will run through the end of May 2026.
Based on Thursday’s closing price of $190 per share, the stake amounts to roughly $4.75 billion.
Bezos, who stepped down as Amazon’s chief executive in 2021, still owns well over a billion shares and remains one of the company’s largest shareholders.
The disclosure arrived just hours after Amazon warned that its financial outlook could be clouded by the uncertainties surrounding global trade tensions, especially under the renewed threat of tariffs.
Company executives said in an earnings call Thursday evening that second-quarter net sales and operating income may fall short of Wall Street expectations.
Bezos diversifies focus toward space and media
Bezos’s planned share sale follows over $13.4 billion in stock offloaded in 2024 alone—a year that saw Amazon’s market value surge past $2 trillion on the back of investor enthusiasm over artificial intelligence.
The world’s second-richest person has increasingly focused on his space exploration company, Blue Origin, as well as The Washington Post, the US newspaper he owns.
While Blue Origin does not release public financials, people familiar with its operations estimate its costs exceed $2 billion annually.
Bezos remains its sole shareholder and has used proceeds from Amazon stock sales to fund its operations.
More recently, Bezos has also made headlines for a political pivot.
Once a vocal critic of Donald Trump, calling him a “threat to democracy,” the Amazon founder has since made efforts to rebuild the relationship.
He reportedly met Trump multiple times over the past year and attended the former president’s second inauguration with his fiancée, Lauren Sánchez.
Within the Washington Post, Bezos has directed a renewed editorial focus on themes such as free markets and personal liberty, moves that have coincided with a loss of subscribers and staff departures.
Bezos has also continued to finance philanthropic ventures, including the Day One Fund.
In March, he donated shares worth about $60 million to an unnamed non-profit, according to filings.
Despite the share sales, Bezos maintains a significant stake in Amazon and influence over its direction, even as the company navigates a more volatile geopolitical and economic landscape.
Amazon flags uncertainty in trade environment
Amazon’s chief executive, Andy Jassy, and chief financial officer, Brian Olsavsky, repeatedly cited “uncertainty” during the earnings call, a term that appeared 11 times in the transcript, according to data provider FactSet.
In contrast, the word had not appeared in either of the past two quarterly calls.
Jassy told analysts that while Amazon had not yet seen any slowdown in demand, the potential for tariffs to alter consumer behaviour and inflate costs remained a major concern.
“None of us know exactly where tariffs will settle or when,” he said, adding that the company’s vast product selection might help it weather volatility better than some peers.
Olsavsky echoed this caution, saying the company’s second-quarter guidance included a wider-than-usual range due to tariff-related uncertainty and broader concerns around consumer spending.
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