Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder, has once again made headlines with a massive philanthropic move, donating 296,182 shares of Amazon stock worth $60.71 million to non-profit organizations. According to the latest filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the donations took place over two days, beginning on March 3, 2024.
A pattern of giving or a strategic move?
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government. It was created in the aftermath of the Wall Street crash of 1929. Its primary purpose is to enforce laws against market manipulation.
Created by Section 4 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (now codified as 15 U.S.C. § 78d and commonly referred to as the Exchange Act or the 1934 Act), the SEC enforces the Securities Act of 1933, the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, the Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002, among other statutes.
The transactions which started on March 3, 2024, concluded over two days. The filing showed that after the donation, Bezos now owns over 909.41 million shares of Amazon. The latest donation adds to Bezos’ billions of charitable contributions over the past years.
Jeffrey Preston Bezos is an American businessman best known as the founder, executive chairman, and former president and CEO of Amazon, the world’s largest e-commerce and cloud computing company.
According to Forbes and the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, he was the wealthiest person from 2017 to 2021. Furthermore, his decision to gift Amazon shares could allow the receiving non-profit organization to sell without attracting capital gains taxes. This trade was Bezos’ first stock gifting activity in 2025.
In 2024, he donated millions of Amazon shares for his magnanimous efforts. He gifted a million company shares in May, and in November, he gifted 1.4 million shares. Most of these went to non-profits, including the preschools that he founded.
Jeff Bezos offloads billions in Amazon shares
Form 4 filings with the SEC reveal that Bezos sold 16.35 million Amazon shares worth £2.36 billion ($3.048 billion) in November 2024, and almost £10.53 billion ($13.6 billion) of Amazon shares for the entire year. The rationale behind these enormous selloffs is that Bezos could use the sales profits to fund his Blue Origin venture.
”The only reason we are taking Blue Origin more seriously is that Bezos is bankrolling it. They have spent a ridiculous amount of money. He estimated the figure to be around £10.84 billion ($14 billion),” Space Capital investor Chad Anderson said.
Blue Origin will likely attempt its second New Glenn launch in late spring after fixing propulsion issues that prevented the booster from landing on the first launch in January. The company’s CEO, Dave Limp, said in February that a second booster is in production. Around the same time, Blue Origin announced it would dismiss nearly 10% of its workforce, affecting 1,400 of its almost 14,00 employees.
A billionaire’s tax haven
Bezos has also been spending extravagantly on Florida mansions while saving taxes. He moved there from Seattle, Washington, in early 2024, citing personal and professional reasons. He purportedly splurged £193.64 million ($250 million) on three mansions in the billionaire bunker of Indian Creek village, accessible only through a guarded bridge.
Experts believe Bezos saved over £774.58 million ($1 billion) in taxes in 2024 by relocating to Florida. The state doesn’t impose state income or capital gains taxes compared to Washington, which imposed a 7% tax on long-term capital gains for selling assets over £193,646 ($250,000). The billionaire will also avoid estate taxes since Florida doesn’t impose them, saving his heirs tons of money.
Charity 101: Blackburn Foodbank receives a record-breaking donation in tough times
According to Forbes’ billionaires list, Bezos is the second-richest person on the planet, with a net worth of £163.3 billion ($210.3 billion). He follows SpaceX and Tesla chief Elon Musk, who has a net worth of £248.31 billion ($319.6 billion).
While Bezos’ charitable giving continues to make headlines, so does the debate over whether his donations are purely philanthropic or a savvy financial maneuver. Whether generosity or strategy, one thing is evident—Jeff Bezos continues to influence the world through business and philanthropy.