Jeff Bezos cashed out over $3 billion in Amazon stock but still made a massive gain off the post-election limbo for the markets

• Jeff Bezos sold over $3 billion worth of Amazon’s stock this week, but the US election rally has helped the tech billionaire’s net worth rise massively.
• Bezos sold 1 million shares on Monday and Tuesday, taking his total cash-out in 2020 to more than $10 billion this year.
• The Amazon CEO’s net worth added $10.5 billion on Wednesday alone in one of the largest single-day increases, according to Bloomberg.
• Last week, Amazon reported fourth-quarter earnings that blew past Wall Street expectations even without the usual boost from iPhone sales.
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Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos sold over $3 billion worth of the company’s stock right before he made a massive gain off the US election rally across the financial markets on Wednesday.

Bezos sold 1 million shares on Monday and Tuesday, according to filings registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Bezos continues to own over 10% of Amazon, or over 53 million shares, which makes him the richest person in the world, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index.

The latest stock sale takes his total cash-out to more than $10 billion this year. Bezos has been vocal about wanting to sell his stock profits as part of an established investing plan aimed at funding his space-travel company, Blue Origin. Amazon declined to comment on the stock sales.

The privately owned rocket company, founded in 2000, picked up in May after Elon Musk’s SpaceX became the first to launch astronauts to the International Space Station.

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On Wednesday, some of the ultra-rich in Silicon Valley saw a huge boost in net worth after the Nasdaq 100 posted its biggest single-day increase since April in a rally after the US election that swept global equities higher. 

Bezos led the pack with a $10.5 billion gain, while Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg added about $8 billion. Bezos’ wealth has risen $76.1 billion to $191 billion, while his net worth gained by $10.5 billion on Wednesday alone in one of the largest single-day increases, according to Bloomberg.

Amazon last week reported fourth-quarter earnings that blew past Wall Street expectations even without the typical boost from iPhone sales. The company grew its net sales by 1% year-on-year to $64.7 billion, reflecting a 29% rise in Mac sales and a 46% jump in iPad sales, as millions of people turned to Apple products to work and study from home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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