Jeff Bezos sold an additional 12 million Amazon shares worth $2 billion, bringing his total value of shares sold over the past week to more than $6 billion.
The 60-year-old billionaire unloaded the latest cash from the e-commerce giant he founded on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to previously reported Securities and Exchange Commission filings. bloomberg.
The deal is part of Bezos’ grand plan to sell up to 50 million Amazon shares over the next year.
He sold a total of about 36 million shares three times in the past week, according to Bloomberg.
It’s unclear why Amazon would sell now, though its stock has risen more than 12% so far this year.
The decline also occurred shortly after Bezos started calling Florida home. This saved Bezos hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes.
From recent stock sales alone, Bezos may have saved at least $430 million thanks to his move from Seattle to Miami.
Washington state imposed a 7% tax on capital gains on stocks and bonds over $250,000 in 2022, but Florida has no such tax.
Assuming Amazon’s stock price remains unchanged, Bezos could receive a tax break worth more than $600 million by the time he unloads the remaining 14 million shares, which he has vowed to dispose of by January 31, 2025.
Representatives for Mr. Bezos did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
Bezos, the world’s second-richest man with a fortune of $194 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, ditched his longtime digs in Seattle last year and moved to the glittering, ultra-luxury island of Indian Creek, also known as “The Billionaire.” acquired real estate. Encampment trench. “
The island, where Mr. Bezos bought the adjoining property of his mansion for a total of $147 million, includes about 40 waterfront properties and an 18-hole golf course spread across 294 acres.
There’s also a Brazilian teak wharf where more than 100-foot luxury vessels are moored, including a helicopter landing pad, swimming pool and Mr. Bezos’ $500 million superyacht Col, complete with a Sanchez-like mermaid adorning the bow. ” is perfect for.
By the time Bezos sells his 50 million Amazon shares, the tax savings he anticipates will be more than enough to outweigh the costs of Coll, which costs about $25 million a year to operate.
In addition to the capital gains tax break he would receive, Bezos is also prepared to save on property taxes. The Sunshine State’s property tax rate is 0.89%, which is lower than Washington’s 0.98% real estate tax rate. rocket mortgage.
And in Washington, wealthy residents with assets of $2,193,000 or more are also liable to pay estate taxes of 10% to 20% upon death.
If Bezos were to keep Seattle as his primary residence and maintain his current net worth, he would have to collect $38.8 billion in inheritance taxes after his death.
On the other hand, Florida does not impose a resident inheritance tax regardless of the size of assets.
For the past 30 years, Bezos has lived in a house in Washington less than 10 miles from Amazon’s Seattle headquarters.
The move to Miami has sparked controversy over whether he intended to avoid paying high taxes, but Bezos also wanted to be closer to his parents and to launch rockets with his space company, Blue Origin. He claims he wanted to.
