Image source, Getty Images
- author, Joao da Silva
- role, Business reporter
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos said he plans to sell a further 25 million shares in the tech giant, valuing it at nearly $5 billion (£3.9 billion).
The company’s shares hit an all-time high on Wednesday.
This is the first time Bezos has sold Amazon shares since 2021.
The company’s shares have risen more than 30% this year on expectations that growing demand for artificial intelligence (AI) technology will boost revenue from its cloud-computing business.
Last month, Amazon’s stock market valuation surpassed $2 trillion for the first time.
But that still lags behind other major tech companies, Nvidia, Apple and Microsoft, which have all surpassed the $3 trillion mark.
Amazon reported strong quarterly results at the end of April, showing that its AI investments are paying off.
Bezos stepped down as the company’s CEO in 2021 but currently serves as chairman of the board and remains the company’s largest shareholder.
He founded Amazon in his garage in Bellevue, Washington in 1994, when the internet was in its early stages.
The company started as an online bookstore with the world’s largest collection of e-books.
Since then, Amazon has become one of the world’s leading online retail and cloud computing companies.
He also founded the rocket company Blue Origin, which launched six customers to the edge of space in May.
Bezos is the second-richest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of about $214 billion, according to Forbes magazine’s list of billionaires.
