What are Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg up to? US billionaires sell $11 billion in stock (2024)

FAQs

Why are all the billionaires selling stock? ›

"Billionaire CEOs like [Jeff] Bezos, [Mark] Zuckerberg, Jamie Dimon, and the Walton family are selling off massive amounts of their own stocks, and analysts think the CEOS may be bracing for an economic downturn," he said, adding, “An overheated stock market continues to climb to new heights as investors feed that ...

“We've historically seen a lot of volatility in our stock during this phase of our product playbook where we're investing in scaling a new product but aren't yet monetizing it,” Zuckerberg said on the call. Zuckerberg owns around 345 million Class A and B shares.

Zuckerberg, 39, owns about 13% of Meta and has a net worth of about $125 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, making him the seventh-richest person in the world. Zuckerberg primarily sells Meta shares to fund philanthropic initiatives, according to company spokesperson.

Jeff Bezos founded e-commerce giant Amazon in 1994 out of his Seattle garage. Bezos stepped down as CEO to become executive chairman in 2021. He owns a bit less than 10% of the company.

Warren Edward Buffett (/ˈbʌfɪt/ BUF-it; born August 30, 1930) is an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist who currently serves as the co-founder, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.

The most logical reason Buffett and his investing crew pared down their Apple stake is to offset realized investment losses from Paramount Global and HP. Buffett's company is sitting on an estimated $119 billion in unrealized gains on its Apple stock.

Key Takeaways. Institutional investors are the majority owners of Microsoft, accounting for almost 70% of outstanding shares. Former CEO Steve Ballmer owns a 4% stake in Microsoft, more than its founder Bill Gates, who holds a 1.3% stake. Vanguard and Blackrock are the two largest Microsoft's institutional investors.

Individual investors

Jeff Bezos: Owns 937,774,000 Amazon shares, or 9.02% of shares outstanding. Amazon's founder, executive chairman, and former CEO remains its largest stakeholder, with his stake in Amazon worth about $166 billion. Bezos gifted around $240 million worth of Amazon shares in 2023.

The Facebook lawsuit

In a lengthy lawsuit, Zuckerberg and the twins eventually reached an agreement that saw Tyler and Cameron receive a US$65 million payout from the Facebook boss. The feud was detailed in The Social Network, setting the groundwork for Tyler and Cameron's place in the public eye.

How much stock did Warren Buffett sell? ›

Apple's not the only stock Buffett sold last year

Buffett sold a lot of stocks in 2023. Through the first nine months of the year, Berkshire Hathaway sold $32.8 billion worth of stock (and bought just $9.1 billion).

Meta stock fell more than 10% Thursday, even as the Facebook parent company reported better-than-anticipated sales in its quarterly earnings the day before. The losses appeared to be driven by the company's steep Metaverse losses, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg's commitment to continue that spending.

Swift's inclusion comes after Forbes declared the singer a billionaire in October 2023 and reported her net worth at $1.1 billion. In a rare feat, Swift is the first musician to reach the milestone solely from songwriting and performing.

Bernard Arnault & Family

Bernard Arnault, the richest person in the world, is the CEO and chairman at Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH), the world's largest luxury goods company encompassing approximately 70 renowned fashion and cosmetics brands.

Jeff Bezos has reclaimed the title of the richest person on Earth, surpassing Elon Musk, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index on Monday. The Amazon founder's net worth was $200 billion, while Musk followed at $198 billion.

Many of the sales were made according to trading plans that automatically sell shares at a specific date or stock. The goal being to avoid any hint of insider trading. However, analysts think there are other motivations for the sale. One consultant said sales could be due to the upcoming election.

When asked for comment, Walmart referred Business Insider to a 2015 statement from Walton Enterprises announcing a plan to sell shares "from time to time" as a way to keep the family's ownership below 50% of the company and to fund charitable initiatives.

But there's one group of investors who charge in to buy when stocks are selling off: the corporate insiders. How do they do it? They have 2 key advantages over you and me that provide them the edge during uncertain times. If you follow their lead, you can have that edge too.

Why do most companies sell shares of stock? The main reason why most companies sell shares of stock is to raise money for the company. For a certain sum, an investor can buy stock in the company, thus granting them ownership rights in it. With this, investors can participate in the company's growth and profit.