Billionaire Michael Dell reaps US$1.2 billion from stock sale

[NEW YORK] Dell Technologies chief executive Michael Dell sold US$1.2 billion worth of shares in his namesake computer company, reducing his stake by about 3 per cent, according to a Friday (Jun 27) filing.

Dell, 60, is the 12th-richest person in the world with a fortune of US$135.4 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Even after the sale, in which he offloaded 10 million shares, he still owns a stake in the computing giant worth nearly US$39 billion.

About a third of the billionaire’s fortune is in Dell Technologies stock, including shares held by his wife’s trust, while the remainder is primarily held in Broadcom stock and cash proceeds from prior share sales.

The sale follows a familiar pattern for Dell, who also sold two blocks of 10 million shares in September, generating more than US$2.3 billion.

His company’s stock is up more than 9 per cent since May 29, when it gave a profit outlook for the year that beat estimates. It also told investors it had seen a significant increase in orders for servers to run artificial-intelligence (AI) networks. 

Round Rock, Texas-based Dell Technologies has been undergoing a renaissance as of late, gaining more than 50 per cent last year and rejoining the S&P 500 Index after a decade-long absence off the back of a surge in revenue tied to its AI server business. BLOOMBERG