On the 20th, Bloomberg News reported that several top U.S. executives, including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, sold significant amounts of their company stocks during the first quarter of this year—just before the New York Stock Exchange experienced a sharp downturn following President Donald Trump’s announcement of reciprocal tariffs earlier this month.
Citing analysis from insider trading firm Washington Services, Bloomberg noted that Mark Zuckerberg sold approximately 1.1 million shares of Meta stock through the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), the philanthropic organization he co-founded with his wife, Priscilla Chan. The sales, executed in January and February when Meta’s stock was at an all-time high, totalled around $733 million (roughly 1.04 trillion Korean won). Since then, Meta’s stock has dropped by 32% from its February peak, as of the closing price on the 18th.
Similarly, Oracle CEO Safra Catz sold 3.8 million shares valued at $705 million (also about 1.04 trillion won) during the same quarter, at a time when Oracle’s stock was also trading near record highs. Oracle’s share price has since plunged 12% following Trump’s April 2 announcement on tariffs. Bloomberg estimates that Catz’s total assets—including both sold and remaining shares—are worth approximately $2.4 billion (3.4 trillion won).
JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon was also among those offloading shares, having sold $234 million (about 330 billion won) worth of company stock in the first quarter. Bloomberg estimates Dimon’s net worth at $3 billion (roughly 4.3 trillion won).
Other notable executives include Stephen Cohen, CEO of defence tech firm Palantir Technologies, who sold $337 million (around 480 billion won) in company shares. In total, 3,867 insiders at publicly traded U.S. companies sold a combined $15.5 billion (22 trillion won) in stock during the first quarter of 2025.
While that figure represents a drop from the same period last year—when 4,702 insiders sold $28.1 billion in shares—it still underscores a trend that often raises red flags for investors. For instance, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos alone sold $8.5 billion (12 trillion won) worth of stock in the first quarter of the previous year.
Insider stock sales are often seen as potential warning signs, since executives are assumed to have deeper knowledge about their companies’ outlooks. The timing of these sales—especially ahead of significant market volatility—may further heighten investor concerns.