Bezos Offloads £47M in Amazon Shares to Charities—A Generous Gesture or Smart Tax Strategy?

According to the latest filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Amazon founder Jeff Bezos gifted 296,182 shares of the tech giant worth £47.02 million ($60.71 million) to non-profit organisations.

The trades were executed over two days, starting on 3rd March, 2024. The filing revealed that after the donation, Bezos now owns over 909.41 million shares of Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN). The latest donation adds to Bezos' billions of dollars worth of philanthropic contributions over the past years.

Furthermore, his decision to gift Amazon shares could allow the receiving non-profit organisation to sell without attracting capital gains taxes. This trade was Bezos' first stock gifting activity in 2025.

Last year, he donated millions of Amazon shares as part of his philanthropic efforts. Bezos gifted a million shares of the company in May and 1.4 million shares in November, most of which went to non-profits, including preschools he founded.

Bezos Sold Over 16M Amazon Shares In 2024

Form 4 filings with the SEC show that Bezos had sold 16.35 million Amazon shares worth £2.36 billion ($3.048 billion) in November 2024. For the full year, he sold nearly £10.53 billion ($13.6 billion) worth of Amazon shares.

One reason for these massive selloffs is that Bezos could use the sales proceeds to fund his Blue Origin venture. 'The only reason we are taking Blue Origin more seriously is because Bezos is bankrolling it,' Space Capital investor Chad Anderson had told The New York Times. 'They have spent a ridiculous amount of money.' He estimated the figure to be around £10.84 billion ($14 billion).

Blue Origin will likely attempt its second New Glenn launch in late spring after rectifying 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 also announced it would lay off around 10% of its workforce, which would affect 1,400 of the company's almost 14,00 employees.

Bezos Spends Heavily On Florida Mansions

Bezos has also been spending lavishly on Florida mansions while saving taxes. He moved there from Seattle, Washington, in early 2024, citing personal and professional reasons. He reportedly splurged £193.64 million ($250 million) on three mansions in the billionaire bunker of Indian Creek village, accessible only through a guarded bridge.

At the same time, 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, which will save his heirs tons of money in the future.

According to the Forbes billionaires list, Bezos is the second-richest person on the planet, with a net worth of £163.3 billion ($210.3 billion). He trails SpaceX and Tesla chief, Elon Musk, who has a net worth of £248.31 billion ($319.6 billion).

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