Jeff Bezos Sells Another Batch of Amazon Shares Worth $1.5B Under a Prearranged Plan

According to the latest filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Jeff Bezos sold 6.71 million shares of Amazon worth over £1.1 billion ($1.5 billion). The stock sale comes a week after he offloaded 3.4 million company shares worth over £573.6 million ($768 million).

The share sale is under a March 10b5-1 plan, which details that Bezos plans to sell £3.5 billion ($4.7 billion) of the Amazon stock by May 2026. He sold £10 billion ($13.4 billion) of his Amazon stake in 2024.

The latest stock sale of over 3 million Amazon shares, made across four trades between 11th July and 14th July, reduced Bezos' holdings to just under 900 million shares of the company. He currently has a net worth of £178.8 billion ($239.4 billion), according to the Forbes Real Time Billionaires list.

Selling shares under a 10b5-1 plan represents agreements between corporate insiders and brokers on the conditions under which company stock is to be traded. This plan is adopted to avoid accusations of insider trading and is often disclosed before the transactions are executed.

However, Bezos has already sold over £1.7 billion ($2.3 billion) worth of Amazon stock in July, weeks after marrying Lauren Sanchez in Venice. The three-day extravaganza cost an estimated £37.3 million ($50 million). The timing of the financial changes has experts speculating that it is linked to a prenuptial agreement Bezos signed with Sanchez before their marriage last month.

Bezos had to transfer a quarter of his 16% stake in Amazon during his divorce from MacKenzie Scott in 2019. The marriage was without a prenup, and Scott reportedly received £28.3 billion ($38 billion) in the divorce settlement.

According to Walzer Melcher & Yoda partner Christopher Melcher, Bezos signed a prenup to safeguard his children with Scott. 'Bezos handled his first divorce as fast as an Amazon delivery. It was quick but not painless. Billions of dollars were at stake, which were earned during marriage and had to be split because there was no premarital agreement,' Melcher said.

Meanwhile, California attorney Alphonse Provinziano believes the prenup includes documentation of Bezos' business interests, stock portfolio, and liabilities, ensuring there are no legal grey areas in case of a future dispute. This way, Bezos can minimise the chances of prolonged court battles.

'For Bezos, his enormous wealth will allow him to be generous in his marriage with Lauren. He has enough money to provide for his existing children, to make charitable donations, while also creating a strong community estate with Lauren,' Melcher added.

He explained that Bezos has children and other uses for his wealth, which creates a valid reason to establish some guardrails around his 'premarital estate,' which can be done while creating a partnership with Lauren.

'For example, there could be a large upfront payment at the date of marriage, like a signing bonus, or a large payment on separation, like a severance,' Melcher concluded.

Matrimonial attorney Marilyn Chinitz told Fortune that Bezos and Sanchez likely had teams of lawyers and other professionals working on the agreement for several months. The prenup could also contain several non-financial provisions, such as nondisclosure agreements and non-disparagement clauses related to media activity and confidential business information, the attorney added.

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