Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Sheryl Sandberg sold $1.7 billion worth of Facebook stock over the last decade

Sheryl Sandberg sold $1.7 billion worth of Facebook stock over the last decade

Over the past decade, Sandberg has sold over 75% of her shares through regularly scheduled share sale programs.
Sheryl Sandberg leaves Meta as one of the highest-profile and most successful women in tech — and after more than $1.7 billion in stock sales.

Sandberg announced Wednesday that she is stepping down from her role as chief operating officer after 14 years at Meta, formerly known as Facebook. Sandberg will remain on the social media company’s board.

Sandberg’s wealth totals an estimated $1.6 billion, according to Forbes, making her the second wealthiest woman in tech after Meg Whitman. Whitman previously held the top job at Hewlett Packard Enterprise and is worth an estimated $3.2 billion, according to Forbes.

Sandberg is also one of the rare non-CEOs and non-founders to become a billionaire.

While many corporate executives tend to hold on to the bulk of their shares as a show of confidence in their companies, Sandberg has been an aggressive and consistent seller of Facebook (now Meta) stock.

Over the past decade, Sandberg has sold over 75% of her after-tax shares through regularly scheduled share sale programs, according to research firms that track the sales. In total, she sold over 22 million shares for more than $1.7 billion, according to analytics firm VerityData. Depending on the treatment of options and restricted stock sales, the total could actually be higher, according to another analytics firm, Smart Insider, which calculates her stock sales at closer to $1.9 billion.

“Her sales over the past decade makes her one of the biggest insider sellers at any U.S. company,” said Ben Silverman, director of research at VerityData.

A spokesperson for Sandberg said she acquired 48 million restricted stock units, options and shares during her time at the company. About 20 million were sold for taxes, and she sold 22 million of the remaining 28 million through a 10b5-1 pre-schedule selling program.

Sandberg cashed out shares at a wide range of prices as Facebook shares soared. The stock priced at $38 per share in the company’s initial public offering in 2012 and peaked above $382 per share in September.

Sandberg’s average stock sale price over the past decade was $79.10 per share, according to VerityData, with her most recent sale in October 2019.

Despite her billionaire status, Sandberg hasn’t shown the penchant for yachts, private jets and beach homes shown by other tech tycoons. According to media reports, in 2013 she moved into a newly built, 9,200-square-foot home in Menlo Park, California, close to Facebook’s headquarters, that features a wine room, gym, waterfall and solar panels on the roof.

Sandberg has also gifted some of the proceeds of her sales to charity. In 2016, she gave $107.2 million to her donor-advised fund at Fidelity Charitable. At the time she didn’t say which charities she would fund, but has said she plans to support programs that increase opportunities for women and girls.

Sandberg’s spokesperson said she had made total reportable gifts of 4.9 million shares, with 2.8 million shares to her donor-advised fund and 2.1 million irrevocable transfers to trusts for beneficiaries. Smart Insider estimates Sandberg has given away $484 million in shares.

In announcing her departure on Wednesday, Sandberg said the decision to leave Meta will allow her to focus more on her philanthropic work.

Sandberg has also been an active political donor, contributing to Democratic candidates and frequently hosting Democratic fundraisers.

She still owns nearly 1.5 million shares, with a current market value of about $290 million, in a revocable trust. She also has 333,642 shares of unvested restricted stock, some of which may vest before she leaves.

Meta shares closed on Wednesday at $188.64.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
High-Speed Train Collision in Southern Spain Kills at Least Twenty-One and Injures Scores
No Sign of an AI Bubble as Tech Giants Double Down at World’s Largest Technology Show
Trump to hit Europe with 10% tariffs until Greenland deal is agreed
Cybercrime, Inc.: When Crime Becomes an Economy. How the World Accidentally Built a Twenty-Trillion-Dollar Criminal Economy
Woman Claiming to Be Freddie Mercury’s Secret Daughter Dies at Forty-Eight After Rare Cancer Battle
EU Seeks ‘Farage Clause’ in Brexit Reset Talks With Britain
Germany Hit by Major Airport Strikes Disrupting European Travel
Russia Deploys Hypersonic Missile in Strike on Ukraine
There is no sovereign immunity for poisoning millions with drugs.
Béla Tarr, Visionary Hungarian Filmmaker, Dies at Seventy After Long Illness
German Intelligence Secretly Intercepted Obama’s Air Force One Communications
The U.S. State Department’s account in Persian: “President Trump is a man of action. If you didn’t know it until now, now you do—do not play games with President Trump.”
President Trump Says United States Will Administer Venezuela Until a Secure Leadership Transition
Delta Force Identified as Unit Behind U.S. Operation That Captured Venezuela’s President
Europe’s Luxury Sanctions Punish Russian Consumers While a Sanctions-Circumvention Industry Thrives
Europe’s Largest Defence Groups Set to Return Nearly Five Billion Dollars to Shareholders in Twenty Twenty-Five
Diamonds Are Powering a New Quantum Revolution
The Battle Over the Internet Explodes: The United States Bars European Officials and Ignites a Diplomatic Crisis
Fine Wine Investors Find Little Cheer in Third Year of Falls
Caviar and Foie Gras? China Is Becoming a Luxury Food Powerhouse
Hackers Are Hiding Malware in Open-Source Tools and IDE Extensions
Traveling to USA? Homeland Security moving toward requiring foreign travelers to share social media history
Trump in Direct Assault: European Leaders Are Weak, Immigration a Disaster. Russia Is Strong and Big — and Will Win
EU Firms Struggle with 3,000-Hour Paperwork Load — While Automakers Fear De Facto 2030 Petrol Car Ban
White House launches ‘Hall of Shame’ site to publicly condemn media outlets for alleged bias
European States Approve First-ever Military-Grade Surveillance Network via ESA
The Ukrainian Sumo Wrestler Who Escaped the War — and Is Captivating Japan
MediaWorld Sold iPad Air for €15 — Then Asked Customers to Return Them or Pay More
Car Parts Leader Warns Europe Faces Heavy Job Losses in ‘Darwinian’ Auto Shake-Out
Families Accuse OpenAI of Enabling ‘AI-Driven Delusions’ After Multiple Suicides
U.S. Envoys Deliver Ultimatum to Ukraine: Sign Peace Deal by Thursday or Risk Losing American Support
The U.S. State Department Announces That Mass Migration Constitutes an Existential Threat to Western Civilization and Undermines the Stability of Key American Allies
A Decade of Innovation Stagnation at Apple: The Cook Era Critique
German Entertainment Icons Alice and Ellen Kessler Die Together at Age 89
AI Researchers Claim Human-Level General Intelligence Is Already Here
Tragedy in Serbia: Coach Mladen Žižović Collapses During Match and Dies at 44
Trump–Putin Budapest Summit Cancelled After Moscow Memo Raises Conditions for Ukraine Talks
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
China Presses Netherlands to “properly” Resolve the Nexperia Seizure as Supply Chain Risks Grow
Merz Attacks Migrants, Sparks Uproar, and Refuses to Apologize: “Ask Your Daughters”
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
×