Jeff Bezos sells US$3.1 billion worth of Amazon shares

SEATTLE: Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos sold shares worth US$3.1 billion in the e-commerce company in recent days, regulatory filings showed on Wednesday (Aug 5).

The stock sale comes at a time when the company’s shares have surged more than 73 per cent this year.

During the first two working days of August, Bezos sold 1 million shares as part of a previously announced trading plan, according to the filings.

Bezos, the world’s richest man, had said he planned to sell stock worth about US$1 billion each year to fund his rocket company, Blue Origin.

The latest share sale leaves him with 54.5 million shares worth roughly US$174.64 billion at the current market price.