- Jeff Bezos – the world’s third-richest man – sold $8.5billion in Amazon this month
- Mark Zuckerberg – the world’s fourth-richest – sold about $638million in Meta
- Jamie Dimon, Leon Black, and the Waltons also sold stocks, sparking concerns
American billionaires are selling stocks by the boatload – sparking fears of an impending financial disaster.
Jeff Bezos – the third-richest man behind Louis Vuitton’s Bernard Arnaut and Elon Musk – unloaded $8.5billion in Amazon shares this month alone.
Mark Zuckerberg – the fourth-richest – sold about 1.4 million Meta shares worth roughly $638million.
Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of JPMorgan, shilled $150 million this past week, in his first cash-out since taking the reins at the bank nearly two decades ago.
Within days, Apollo Global Management’s Leon Black also enacted his first-ever sale, shedding $172.8million in his equity firm after 34 years. Walmart’s Walton family sold $1.5billion in a week, bringing its total sale proceeds to $2.3billion since December.
The series of transactions were all made within weeks of each other, and have already sparked conversation amongst onlookers.
Experts this week theorized the sales could be the result of the looming election, and as the S&P 500 index – a decent measure of the larger economy – remains at an all-time high.
‘If you’re reading the tea leaves and looking at what may happen with our politics in the next year or so, things are pretty good right now – the markets are up,’ finance firm consultant Alan Johnson told Fortune late last month.
The staffer at Manhattan-based Johnson Associates went on to suggest the sales could be the result of potentially volatile fall, to coincide with the upcoming general election.
‘With our politics and everything else going on geopolitically, maybe it won’t be as good a year from now or two years from now,’ he conceded.
The expert then pointed to the S&P 500’s recent, impressive performance, and how it has risen more than 27 percent in the past year.
This development added billions to the portfolios of the figures responsible for the recent sales within a year, Johnson reminded – adding that these execs are currently ‘more in the money’ than expected.
Because of this, Johnson said that diversifying their holdings – at least from an investor’s standpoint – is a good idea.
As they hedge their bets, the stockholders could also be taking advantage of current tax breaks, in case they are eliminated under a new administration, the finance consultant said.
Many of those breaks were put forth during the Trump administration, Johnson said – meaning another Biden win could mean they will finally be put to bed.
Further stoking fears were statements from major financial market players in recent weeks – some of which did suggest that the sudden stock dump could be the result of something greater behind the scenes.
American Hartford Gold, a company that shills gold and other metals to investors, suggested in a promo video published on the firm’s website late last month that the large liquidations may be a sign of a still-to-come economic dip.
Airing the waring was the Senior Director Mechi Block, who suggested the CEOs – using their different perspective on the economy – were ‘getting out before the tech bubble bursts.’
‘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 in the February 29 clip.
‘An overheated stock market continues to climb to new heights,’ he continued, adding, ‘as investors feed that frenzy out of fear of missing out, economic insiders are unloading billions of dollars worth of stocks.’
He said their motivation, while unproven, ‘could hold serious implications for regular Americans.’
He went on to lay out the transactioins and who made them, before offering a theory starkly similar to that of Johnson and several other seasoned experts.
‘These stocks,’ he said, ‘are being sold as the S&P 500 index is at an alltime high’ – a marker he credited to just ‘seven’ companies, many of which are fun during the figures in question.
He went on to point to how these companies have performed as the S&P flourished.
‘Meta stock has soared 186 percent, JPMorgan is up nearly 30 percent, and Amazon has actually surged close to 90 percent. All three companies are trading close to record highs,’ he said.
‘Analysts think the trigger for this mass selling could be the upcoming election, and the volatility that will most certainly bring.
‘Selling,’ he added, ‘implies that the shares are fully valued, and it is time to get out while the getting is good.’
Like Johnson, he theorized wealthy stockholders may want to take advantage of stock breaks implemented during the Trump years, before they are potentially removed by new Congress.
‘Selling massive chunks of stocks may also send a more dire message to individual investors,’ he further warned.
‘Typically if CEOs are buying shares, it shows a confidence in the future growth potential of that company.
‘It is also possible these billionaire’s view from above could be giving them a different perspective of the economy, and where it’s headed.
Citing how Dimon recently sound the alarm on the astronomical growth of government debt, and the lingering impacts of inflation and growing geopolitical conflicts, he encouraged Americans to contact the company to buy gold as a way to hedge financial risk tied to stock markets.
As a result, Gold was trading near record highs a little over a week later, valued at around $2,193.80 USD an ounce
Robert Johnson is a UK-based business writer specializing in finance and entrepreneurship. With an eye for market trends and a keen interest in the corporate world, he offers readers valuable insights into business developments.
