Jeff Bezos has sold more than $1.8 billion worth of stock, as the world’s richest person continues to sell his Amazon stake to fund his space venture.
The Amazon CEO offloaded roughly 960,000 shares, each worth around $1,900 on Wednesday, according to the company’s regulatory filings. Bezos sold the stake after Amazon reported weaker-than-expected profits in its quarterly earnings. Amazon’s stock is up 25% for the year.
Even with the massive stock dump, Bezos remains the world’s richest person, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He’s worth $117 billion.
Bezos has said he sells roughly $1 billion worth of stock a year to fund his space company, Blue Origin, and he pledged to sell more than $1 billion this year as Blue Origin gets closer to commercial operations.
Bezos has lofty expectations for Blue Origin. He unveiled a new rocket engine and a mockup of a lunar lander to use for shuttle cargo in May. He also said he wants to build giant orbital structures that could host self-sustaining colonies. It’s also close to selling tickets to send people to space.
