Why are 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 ...
He is not the only billionaire who has sold stocks and opted to accumulate cash. In mid-2023, news began to spread about the world's super-rich reducing their ownership of shares in public companies. The reason behind this move is to secure their wealth amidst rising interest rates and economic uncertainty.
In total, the Bentonville-based Walton Family Holdings Trust sold over $1.5 billion in stock. The full statement can be read below: As a result of Walmart's stock buyback programs over the last several years, the percentage of common stock owned by Walton Enterprises, LLC has risen to approximately 50 percent.
There are many valid reasons to sell all or part of a business. Selling shares in a business can generate significant cash, which can be used to pay down debts or fund investments or charitable donations. Likewise, selling part of a business can reduce the owner's risk and allow them to diversify their personal assets.
The wealthiest 10% of Americans own 93% of stocks even with market participation at a record high.
Zuckerberg primarily sells Meta shares to fund philanthropic initiatives, according to company spokesperson. He has pledged to give away 99% of his stake to charitable purposes. Marc Benioff, Zuckerberg's peer in the tech world, also sold shares nearly every day in the second half of 2023.
Why it matters: It makes sense even for billionaires to diversify out of having the overwhelming majority of their wealth in a single stock. Now's a great time to do just that. By the numbers: Between them, the three moguls have sold $9.3 billion of stock in less than a month, per Jonathan Moreland of Insider Insights.
"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 ...
The Walton family is Walmart's largest shareholder, having approximately 50% of Walmart's shares, worth about $190 billion. Some prominent members of the Walton family are Jim Walton, Rob Walton, Alice Walton, and Lukas Walton.
It is a publicly traded family-owned business, as the company is controlled by the Walton family. Sam Walton's heirs own over 50 percent of Walmart through both their holding company Walton Enterprises and their individual holdings.
Did Jeff Bezos sell stock?
Multi-billionaire Jeff Bezos has sold another 14 million Amazon shares, worth around $2.4bn (£1.9bn).
When there are no buyers, you can't sell your shares—you'll be stuck with them until there is some buying interest from other investors. A buyer could pop in a few seconds, or it could take minutes, days, or even weeks in the case of very thinly traded stocks.
All three companies' share prices are up significantly year-over-year: JPMorgan by 30%, Amazon by nearly 90%, and Meta by a whopping 186%. With such eye-popping gains, part of the reason for the big sales may just have been about freeing up some cash.
The top 10% own 88.6% of stocks ($28 trillion). Americans in the 50th to 90th percentile of wealth own 10.8% of stocks ($3.4 trillion). Americans in the bottom 50% own 0.6% of stocks ($19 billion).
The pyramid shows that: half of the world's net wealth belongs to the top 1%, top 10% of adults hold 85%, while the bottom 90% hold the remaining 15% of the world's total wealth, top 30% of adults hold 97% of the total wealth.
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As noted above, its primary source of revenue is through digital advertising. Due to the enormous number of users and social media reach, advertisers large and small consider Meta a prime opportunity to present ads to viewers.
The largest individual shareholder of Meta is its founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg. The largest institutional shareholder of the company is Vanguard Group.
Meta stock surged after its fourth-quarter earnings report in early February, which showed record sales and was headlined by plans for its first-ever dividend. Meta stock is up more than 45% in 2024.
The move helps Bezos avoid a state-level 7% capital gains tax that the state of Washington, where he's lived for years, instituted three years ago. Bezos' recent sale of Amazon shares valued at a substantial amount follows a prescribed stock sale plan allowable for wealthy corporate insiders.
Are CEOs dumping stock?
CEOs are selling off millions of dollars of their own stock.
JPMorgan Chase CEO Dimon sold $150 million in company stock. Meta CEO Zuckerberg has sold $638 million in company stock since the beginning of February 2024.
Warren Buffett Goes on a Stock-Selling Spree
Overall, Berkshire was a net seller of stocks to the tune of $24.2 billion last year. The company did repurchase $9.2 billion worth of its shares during the year, and the amount was higher than in 2022, when it spent $7.9 billion on buybacks.
The Walton family's sales were also outside of a 10b5-1 plan. A 2015 statement from the Walton family said that its members will sell shares from “time to time” to curb increases in its ownership of the retail giant.
On Black Tuesday, October 29, stock holders traded over sixteen million shares and lost over $14 billion in wealth in a single day. To put this in context, a trading day of three million shares was considered a busy day on the stock market. People unloaded their stock as quickly as they could, never minding the loss.
Investors who experience a crash can lose money if they sell their positions, instead of waiting it out for a rise. Those who have purchased stock on margin may be forced to liquidate at a loss due to margin calls.
