Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta Platforms Inc., sold more than $733 million worth of company shares in the first quarter of 2025, just weeks before President Donald Trump’s April 2 announcement on sweeping tariffs. The move, reported by Bloomberg using Washington Services data, has drawn attention to executive stock sales amid shifting global trade dynamics.
Between January and March, Zuckerberg sold around 1.1 million shares through the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and its related foundation, under a 10b5-1 trading plan created in August 2024. These plans are designed to allow pre-scheduled trades and help avoid insider trading accusations.
His stock sales came during a volatile time for U.S. markets. After Trump’s tariff announcement, tech stocks, including Meta, suffered significant losses. As a result, Zuckerberg’s net worth dropped to $178 billion—his lowest this year according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index.
In April, Zuckerberg continued selling shares, adding another $565 million in sales, with an exercise cost of roughly $100 million.
He wasn’t the only executive to reduce holdings during this period. Oracle CEO Safra Catz sold $705 million in stock options in January. Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora sold 2.36 million shares worth over $432 million. Nutanix director Max de Groen sold 5.5 million shares for about $410 million, while Axis Capital director Chuck Davis offloaded 4.3 million shares for nearly $400 million.
Palantir President Stephen Cohen sold 4.06 million shares worth about $337 million amid a stock rally. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon sold over $265 million in shares across February and April. Tempus AI CEO Eric Lefkofsky offloaded over 4 million shares valued at $231.5 million.
Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos sold shares worth $194.9 million, and Dutch Bros co-founder Travis Boersma sold 2.5 million shares for nearly $190 million.
Although many of these trades were carried out under pre-arranged plans, the timing and scale have reignited conversations around transparency and the need for stricter rules on executive trading, especially during sensitive policy shifts.
