Microsoft CEO sells half his company shares

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has sold almost half of his shares in the company. The official position is that it was made for personal purposes to diversify assets. According to analysts, it was done due to the new tax coming into effect in Washington. 

According to The Wall Street Journal, which quoted a Microsoft spokesman: “Satya sold approximately 840,000 shares of his holdings of Microsoft stock for personal financial planning and diversification reasons. He is committed to the continued success of the company and his holdings significantly exceed the holding requirements set by the Microsoft Board of Directors”. 

However, analysts interviewed by the magazine think that it's all about the new tax imposed by Washington state. Starting from 2022, any long-term capital increase of more than $250,000 will be taxed at 7%. Thus, the Microsoft CEO is trying to pay a little less tax by redirecting the proceeds from the sale to other assets. 

As a reminder, Satya Nadella has been the head of Microsoft since 2014. He has contributed immensely to the company's growth, increasing its share price from $36 in 2014 to $336 by November 2021. The company's total capitalization rose to $2.5 trillion and is the world's second-largest after Apple.