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Why Is Google’s Eric Schmidt Selling Nearly Half of His Stock in the Company?

Feb. 9, 2013 9:51am Liz Klimas

SAN FRANCISCO (TheBlaze/AP) — With Google’s stock hovering at record highs, Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt plans to sell more than 40 percent of his stock in the Internet search leader this year, a filing with the U.S. Security Exchange Commission revealed.

The plan disclosed Friday calls for Schmidt to sell up to 3.2 million shares. If he were to sell all that stock at Google’s current price, Schmidt would realize a $2.5 billion windfall.

Plans Disclosed for Googles Eric Schmidt to Sell 3.2 Million of His Company Shares

Executive Chairman of Google, Eric Schmidt visited North Korea on a personal humanitarian mission earlier this year. (Photo: AP/David Guttenfelder)

Schmidt ended December with 7.6 million Google shares, or a 2.3 percent stake in the Mountain View, Calif., company.

He would be left with about 4.4 million shares of Google stock worth another $3.5 billion if he follows through on his divestiture plan for this year. He has gradually been winnowing his holdings in Google in recent years, without giving a specific reason.

According to the commission’s document (via ZDNet), the “pre-arranged trading plan” was allowed to be enacted starting February 2013 as part of Schmidt’s “long-term strategy for individual asset diversification and liquidity.”

“Using this trading plan, Eric can diversify his investment portfolio and can spread stock trades out over a period of one year to reduce market impact,” the document continued.

Google Inc. declined to comment Friday.

Google’s stock rose $11.42 to close at $785.37 Friday. Earlier in the day, it traded at $786.67 – its highest price since the company went public at $85 per share in August 2004.

Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin are the only company executives who own more stock than Schmidt.

Page controls an 8.7 percent stake and Brin holds an 8.5 percent stake. Each stake is currently worth nearly $20 billion.

Schmidt, 57, was Google’s CEO for a decade before turning over the job to Page, 39, in April 2011.

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Comments (30)

denkat56
Posted on February 10, 2013 at 2:28am
Anything not to pay taxes, I’ll bet the 2.5 billion will never make it to an American bank.

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TIME_THE_AVENGER
Posted on February 10, 2013 at 1:47am
Smart man. One of the most basic economic tenets is ‘Buy low, sell high’.

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jman-6
Posted on February 9, 2013 at 11:40pm
For those who have wisdom to discern the times, know a catastrophic economic collapse is looming. I chuckle sometimes because that little book so many call a myth..the bible, paints a pretty good picture of this among many other things coming to a city near you. For those with that wisdom, stand-up, look-up as our redemption draws nigh! GOD SPEED

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- PASSIONFORCHRIST
  Posted on February 10, 2013 at 1:13pm
  You are absolutely right JMAN-6. That is exactly what is going on. Rich people think they are going to avoid this storm that is coming, Not a chance!
  
  Report this comment
Maxim Crux
Posted on February 9, 2013 at 9:53pm
They are getting ready for the collapse. They always dump stock before a crash because they have inside information. Lets see what Boener and other politicians are doing. I bet they are dumping stock as well.

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NoMoMrNiceGuy
Posted on February 9, 2013 at 8:32pm
He is bailing because the NWO is running the place and he wants more freedom

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VetMike
Posted on February 9, 2013 at 1:23pm
Facebook stockholders on the inside were unloading their stock before Facebook went public. It rapidly tanked. Makes you wonder. He wouldn’t want his $2.5 Billion to suddenly shrink to $1 Billion.

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- shorelineliz
  Posted on February 9, 2013 at 2:08pm
  He is getting out with his big bag of gold to retire. He knows what is coming down the pike. All these old farts are. They are getting out while the getting is good and leaving the pile of crap for whoever doesn’t jump ship.
  
  Report this comment
- sillyfreshness
  Posted on February 9, 2013 at 7:23pm
  I’m sure he is anticipating a big pull back in Google’s stock. You can’t have stocks be at record highs with as bad as the economy is. There is a bubble going on right now in their stock, so he knows it will crash soon. Then he will buy it back at $400 or $300 a share and profit the difference. There will be a stock market correction soon since it’s up to almost 14,000 based on nothing. QE infinity is driving it right now. It will crash down soon. If you want to buy stocks, wait until the 2nd half of this year after the crash. If you have a 401K, get ready in the next couple of months to move your stuff to a stable fund and wait till the pullback, then buy your stuff again. Do like this Schmidt will do and wait for the pullback and then rebuy.
  
  Report this comment
hades3
Posted on February 9, 2013 at 12:57pm
Why is he selling his stock ? Like certain people in his position, he knows the market will tank in the not too distant future. The small investors should be aware, they will be the big losers when this happens. It is inevitable.

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groundzero
Posted on February 9, 2013 at 12:45pm
This will be GEORGE SOROS OWNED, probably under another name. His way to START controlling the internet!

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Saff SGT
Posted on February 9, 2013 at 12:19pm
Google is working on electronics to control people and minds. We all should be selling our stocks if you have them. This is a warning to all of us electronics gone bad and against US folks

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Tepeyac
Posted on February 9, 2013 at 11:10am
Amazing! Just what does Google do that makes it worth so much? I’m confused…..Do we empower this site just by it’s use? It’s a search engine….right? Help me out here…

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- brotherjohn
  Posted on February 9, 2013 at 12:05pm
  If you can’t tell what the product is, then it’s YOU!
  
  The goal from the beginning was to create artificial intelligence. They’re well on their way.
  
  Report this comment
- ObserverOnTheHill
  Posted on February 10, 2013 at 10:15am
  just type a search into google for”sofas” or something like that. Then see how many targeted ads you get on your webpages for the next few days. Their real customers are advertisers, PPC – pay per click – they only care about “helping” you to see where your interest lie to target you advertising. It’s the same as your supermarket card. You don’t believe that they give you that so you can get the sale price on items do you ?
  
  Also, as Glenn was saying the other day that google is great at predicting things like flu outbreaks How ? They monitor the geographic area that all the searches relating to flu are coming from. That’s where the next outbreak will be because everyone in that area is doing their “homework” on the subject.
  
  Now type into google “How do I qualify for…” and see what come up. America’s done for.
  
  Report this comment
AbrahamsSheepdog
Posted on February 9, 2013 at 10:42am
When you start vacationing in N. Korea, sell Google, hell sky is the limit. The nerd should Buy a island, a bikini team and make rum.

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- AbrahamsSheepdog
  Posted on February 9, 2013 at 10:52am
  By nerd I mean he just looks like the strapler guy from Office Space. He’s probably smart, atleast slick.
  
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progressiveslayer
Posted on February 9, 2013 at 10:19am
The feds take 20% off the top in capital gains for doing nothing and this government is a bigger racket than all the organized crime families combined. Capital gains tax should be zero,it was 15% but the community agitator who never worked a day in his life needed to raise it to 20%.

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KEELHAULUM
Posted on February 9, 2013 at 10:18am
Buy and island, and make your own country. Bring along anyone you want to save.
Go all Swiss Family Robinson,…Prepare to repel borders. Bye bye.

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Bonnieblue2A
Posted on February 9, 2013 at 10:13am
According to CNBC there are many Wall Street insiders are turning bearish and selling off posititions in their own companies.
http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000146298&play=1

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- UNALIEN
  Posted on February 9, 2013 at 10:29am
  statistically insider selling is poor predictor of stock or market direction, however, insider buying is..
  
  So, ignore the selling and watch the buying
  
  Report this comment
- OUTLAW_WEALTH
  Posted on February 9, 2013 at 10:43am
  The stock market only appears to be solidifying due to the funny money that’s going into it. Measured in commodities, like gold, the Dow is down. Only a fool will put his money out there where the globalists can skim it for you.
  
  Real commodities are where it’s at.
  
  I don’t blame Eric for doing the smart thing and diversifying.
  Government economists aren’t worth the phony monopoly money that they want us to use.
  
  Geithner, Bernanke, Krugman, all the inflationary Keynesians, they are the deceivers – I personally refuse to be taken in by these charlatans.
  
  Report this comment
- UNALIEN
  Posted on February 9, 2013 at 11:09am
  OUTLAW_WEALTH
  
  very perceptive, the DOW in gold is where it was in 1992..
  
  So, in 21 years the DOW hasn’t moved when denominated in gold.
  
  IMO, we will get to a 1 to 1 DOW/GOLD, probably 20000+ with all the money printing (inflation)
  
  Report this comment
- progressiveslayer
  Posted on February 9, 2013 at 11:22am
  UNALIEN Hyperinflation is on the horizon with the way the fed is monetizing the debt,when the fed raises interest rates the party’s over. It is now it’s just being artificially propped up with the creation of money from nothing.
  
  Report this comment
- UNALIEN
  Posted on February 9, 2013 at 1:45pm
  PROGRESSIVESLAYER
  
  yes that is the path, no way out that I can see…
  
  posted this on another story but it nails it… great read on inflation, you can find a pdf online
  
  “Everyone loves an early inflation. The effects at the beginning of an inflation are all good. There is steepened money expansion, rising government spending, increased government budget deficits, booming stock markets, and spectacular general prosperity, all in the midst of temporarily stable prices. Everyone benefits, and no one pays. That is the early part of the cycle. In the later inflation, on the other hand, the effects are all bad. The government may steadily increase the money inflation in order to stave off the later effects, but the later effects patiently wait. In the terminal inflation, there is faltering prosperity, tightness of money, falling stock markets, rising taxes, still larger government deficits, and still roaring money expansion, now accompanied by soaring prices and ineffectiveness of all traditional remedies. Everyone pays and no one benefits. That is the full cycle of every inflation.”
  
  — Dying of Money: Lessons of the Great German and American Inflations, Jens O. Parsson, 1974
  
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OldSurfRat
Posted on February 9, 2013 at 10:10am
Hard to sell once the feds own it. Good move.

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RANGER1965
Posted on February 9, 2013 at 9:57am
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Sounds smart to me.

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Gonzo
Posted on February 9, 2013 at 9:56am
“If he were to sell all that stock at Google’s current price, Schmidt would realize a $2.5 billion windfall.”
I would say that answers the question Blaze. He’s 57, I would be on a beach somewhere, on my own private beach that is.

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- turkey13
  Posted on February 9, 2013 at 4:43pm
  Unless he did the same thing the kid from Facebook did and give up his citizen ship he will have tp pay 1/2 to uncle Sam. The Kid on Facebook just had to pay a exit fee. He took his billions and bought his own country.
  
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Fubared
Posted on February 9, 2013 at 9:54am
Is he buying North Korea?

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