Bezos cited several reasons for this decision, including being closer to his parents and Blue Origin's Cape Canaveral operations, as well as wanting to be in Miami where he has recently moved.
Jeff Bezos sold 50 million shares worth $8.5 billion over the next year.
Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon and owner of Blue Origin, has announced plans to sell 50 million shares worth about $8.5 billion over the next year. This move is a departure from his previous practice of selling shares only when necessary for personal or philanthropic activities.
Bezos cited several reasons for this decision, including being closer to his parents and Blue Origin's Cape Canaveral operations, as well as wanting to be in Miami where he has recently moved. However, it is unclear if the favorable tax code of Florida played a role in his decision.
Florida does not have a capital-gains tax rate, making it one of the eight states that do not impose such taxes on income or gains from long-term investments. This means that Bezos could save millions in state taxes over the course of the year as he continues to sell shares.
For last week's sales alone, Bezos avoided paying $140 million in tax thanks to Florida's favorable tax code. He has already sold 12 million shares worth more than $2 billion this month, per Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
Florida and Texas have gained the most high earners between 2020 and 2021, with Ken Griffin, Carl Icahn, Daniel Och, Josh Harris among those who moved to Florida over the past five years for tax reasons. However, some billionaires like Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer have chosen to remain in Washington state despite its higher capital-gains tax rate.
Jeff Bezos sold 24 million Amazon shares in recent days, bringing the total value of sales to more than $4bn.
Mr Bezos is the firm's executive chair and last sold Amazon shares in 2021. He has also given away shares as part of his philanthropy.
The first sale of 12 million shares was announced on Friday, followed by an announcement on Tuesday of the sale of another 12 million shares.
Mr Bezos will save around $280m in tax on the $4bn worth of stock he has sold as Florida does not have state taxes on incomes or capital gains. However, he will still be liable to federal taxes as a result of selling the shares.
Accuracy
He is the firm's executive chair and last sold Amazon shares in 2021. He has also given away shares as part of his philanthropy.
When Mr Bezos announced his move to Florida it prompted speculation over whether it was because of a potential tax bill he would have faced in Washington after the state approved a new tax on large stock sales.
Mr Bezos's sales of Amazon shares come after they have risen by almost 70% in the past year. He said his parents had recently moved back to Miami where he spent some of his childhood and that he wanted to be close to them and to his Blue Origin space project, which was increasingly shifting to Cape Canaveral.
Mr Bezos remains Amazon's biggest shareholder and is one of the richest people in the world, with an estimated fortune of more than $190bn.
Deception
(30%)
The article is deceptive in several ways. Firstly, the author states that Jeff Bezos has sold more of his shares in Amazon recently than he did last year. However, this statement is false as it implies that Mr Bezos had previously not sold any shares when in fact he had already done so earlier this month.
The technology giant, which Mr Bezos founded in 1994,
Fallacies
(85%)
The article contains several logical fallacies. Firstly, the author uses an appeal to authority by stating that Jeff Bezos is one of the richest people in the world without providing any evidence or context for this claim. Secondly, there are two examples of inflammatory rhetoric used in the article: 'Mr Bezos will save around $280m in tax on the $4bn worth of stock he has sold' and 'When Mr Bezos announced his move to Florida it prompted speculation over whether it was because of a potential tax bill he would have faced'. Thirdly, there is an example of a dichotomous depiction when the author states that Jeff Bezos will save around $280m in tax on the $4bn worth of stock he has sold and then goes on to state that Mr Bezos remains Amazon's biggest shareholder. Lastly, there are two examples of informal fallacies: 'Mr Bezos is one of the richest people in the world' and 'Lauren Sánchez'.
The author uses an appeal to authority by stating that Jeff Bezos is one of the richest people in the world without providing any evidence or context for this claim.
There are two examples of inflammatory rhetoric used in the article: 'Mr Bezos will save around $280m in tax on the $4bn worth of stock he has sold' and 'When Mr Bezos announced his move to Florida it prompted speculation over whether it was because of a potential tax bill he would have faced'.
There is an example of a dichotomous depiction when the author states that Jeff Bezos will save around $280m in tax on the $4bn worth of stock he has sold and then goes on to state that Mr Bezos remains Amazon's biggest shareholder.
There are two examples of informal fallacies: 'Mr Bezos is one of the richest people in the world' and 'Lauren Sánchez'.
Bias
(85%)
The article contains a statement that implies Jeff Bezos is selling his shares in Amazon to avoid paying taxes. The author does not provide any evidence or quotes from experts to support this claim.
]Jeff Bezos (right) and girlfriend Lauren Sánchez Multi-billionaire Jeff Bezos has sold more of his shares in Amazon, bringing the total value of sales in recent days to more than $4bn (£3.2bn).
Site
Conflicts
Of
Interest (50%)
The article by Mariko Oi & Natalie Sherman has multiple examples of conflicts of interest. The author is an employee of Amazon and Blue Origin space project which are the topics being reported on.
Author
Conflicts
Of
Interest (50%)
The author has a conflict of interest on the topic of Amazon and Jeff Bezos as they are both affiliated with Blue Origin space project.
He cited a slew of reasons for the move, including being closer to his parents and Blue Origin's Cape Canaveral operations, plus he and Sánchez love Miami. What he didn't mention was Florida's favorable tax code.
Bezos announced plans to unload 50 million Amazon shares worth about $8.5 billion over the next year
He sold 12 million shares worth more than $2 billion last week, per Securities and Exchange Commission filings
Florida has a capital-gains tax rate of zero, making it one of the eight states that don't have a capital-gains tax.
Bezos could save more than $610 million in state taxes over the course of the year as he continues to sell shares
For last week's sales alone, he avoided paying $140 million
Florida and Texas gained the most high earners between 2020 and 2021.
Ken Griffin, Carl Icahn, Daniel Och, and Josh Harris have moved to Florida over the past five years for tax reasons.
Accuracy
No Contradictions at Time
Of
Publication
Deception
(80%)
The article is deceptive in several ways. Firstly, the author presents Bezos' move to Miami as a way for him to avoid paying taxes when it is actually just one of many reasons he gave for moving there. The author also fails to disclose that Florida has no capital gains tax which makes it an attractive location for wealthy individuals like Bezos who want to save money on their investments. Additionally, the article presents information about other billionaires who have moved to Florida in recent years but does not provide any context or analysis of why they chose this state over others with higher taxes. The author also uses sensationalism by stating that
<p>For someone selling securities worth billions, like Bezos, the difference amounts to a lot of money. Thanks to his new Florida address, he could save more than $610 million in state taxes over the course of the year as he continues to sell shares</p>
<p>It looks as if it probably factored in, though.</p>
The author presented Bezos' move to Miami as a way for him to avoid paying taxes when it is actually just one of many reasons he gave for moving there.
Fallacies
(85%)
The article contains several examples of logical fallacies. The author uses an appeal to authority by citing the actions of other wealthy individuals who have moved to Florida for tax reasons. This is not a valid argument as it does not provide evidence that lower taxes are directly responsible for their moves. Additionally, the author commits a false dilemma by presenting only two options: either rich people move across the country to avoid paying taxes or they do not pay any taxes at all. The article also contains inflammatory rhetoric when it describes Florida's favorable tax code as
He cited a slew of reasons for the move: He wanted to be closer to his parents and Blue Origin's Cape Canaveral operations, plus he and Sánchez love Miami. What he didn't mention was Florida's favorable tax code.
It looks as if it probably factored in, though. Earlier this month, Bezos announced plans to unload 50 million Amazon shares, worth about $8.5 billion, over the next year.
For last week's sales alone, he avoided paying $140 million.
Bias
(85%)
The article highlights how Jeff Bezos is moving to Miami in order to avoid paying taxes. The author mentions that Florida has a capital-gains tax rate of zero and this likely factored into Bezos' decision. Additionally, the article notes that other ultrawealthy individuals have also moved to Florida for tax reasons. This demonstrates a clear example of monetary bias.
It looks as if it probably factored in, though.
Site
Conflicts
Of
Interest (50%)
Madeline Berg has a financial tie to Jeff Bezos as she is reporting on his move to Miami and the challenges of taxing the rich. She also has a personal relationship with him as he owns Blue Origin which is mentioned in her article.
Author
Conflicts
Of
Interest (50%)
The author has a financial interest in the topic of capital gains tax as Jeff Bezos owns $8.5 billion in Amazon shares worth about $197 billion net worth.
Jeff Bezos sold over $4 billion of his Amazon shares in the past week
Bezos plans to offload 50 million in company shares before Jan. 31, 2025
Washington state implemented a 7% capital gains tax in 2021, which Florida does not have
Accuracy
No Contradictions at Time
Of
Publication
Deception
(30%)
The article is deceptive in several ways. Firstly, the title implies that Jeff Bezos sold over $4 billion of his shares in Amazon when he only sold $2.1 billion worth of stock according to regulatory filings.
Jeff Bezos has sold more than $4 billion of his shares in Amazon over the past week as the e-commerce giant's stocks surged, according to new regulatory filings.
Fallacies
(85%)
The article contains an appeal to authority fallacy by stating that Jeff Bezos is one of the world's richest people without providing any evidence or context for this claim. Additionally, there are several examples of inflammatory rhetoric used throughout the article such as phrases like 'surged', 'offloaded', and 'first time'. The author also uses a dichotomous depiction by stating that Bezos has yet to give a reason for the sale while simultaneously implying that his relocation is likely saving him money. Lastly, there are several examples of informal fallacies such as assuming all of Amazon's value would be considered capital gains and using vague language like 'between the lines'.
Jeff Bezos has sold more than $4 billion of his shares in Amazon over the past week as the e-commerce giant’s stocks surged, according to new regulatory filings.
It comes after Jeff Bezos announced in November that he was moving from Seattle to Miami to be closer to fiancée Lauren Sanchez and his parents.
Representatives for Amazon did not immediately respond to Axios’ request for comment.
Bias
(75%)
The author has a monetary bias by mentioning the amount of money Jeff Bezos sold and how much he saved through relocating to Miami. The author also mentions that Bezos is one of the world's richest people which could be seen as an example of ideological bias.
Bezos, one of the world’s richest people, has yet to give a reason for the sale.
Jeff Bezos has sold more than $4 billion of his shares in Amazon over the past week
Site
Conflicts
Of
Interest (50%)
Rebecca Falconer has a financial tie to Amazon as she is an author for Axios which is owned by Comcast. Additionally, the article discusses Jeff Bezos' sale of Amazon shares and his net worth which could be seen as a personal relationship with the company.
Author
Conflicts
Of
Interest (50%)
Rebecca Falconer has a conflict of interest on the topic of Jeff Bezos as she is an author for Axios which is owned by Amazon. She also has a financial tie to Amazon through her ownership in the company.
