Jeff Bezos sells $ 1.8 billion in Amazon stock, that's why

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos just sold $ 1.8 billion of the company's shares in what may have been his biggest stock sale in the history of the Internet company.

Bezos cashed more than 960,000 shares valued at approximately $ 1,900 per share in the last three days of July, as the company's filings with the Security and Exchange Commission show. It accounted for 1.6% of Bezos & # 39; s total stake in the company, and it may be the largest sale of Amazon stock Bezos has ever done since starting the company more than 20 years ago, according to Forbes.

Bezos also transferred 19.7 million shares to ex-wife MacKenzie Bezos, making her the company's second largest individual shareholder, as Bloomberg notes. Her 4% stake in the company is worth $ 37 billion.

It is unclear why Bezos decided to sell its shares at this time. To be sure, the sale was part of a so-called 1[ads1]0b5-1 trading plan, where shares are automatically sold at predetermined dates to avoid any perception of insider trading.

Still, a leader who pays out large portions of the stock is often considered a negative sign, as it suggests that the person may not be as bullish about the stock's potential as before.

As the owner of several other companies, including an aerospace company and the Washington Post newspaper, Bezos has a lot going on. There are many personal reasons why Bezos may have sold its shares that have nothing to do with Amazon.

Here are our best guesses where the money from his stock sale might come from, as well as some of the big issues that can withstand Amazon's future that coincides with the moves.

Amazon did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for more sales information.