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A Billionaire Google Board Member Earned $31 Million As Google's Stock Hit All-Time Highs
One of Google's earliest directors, Ram Shriram, has added to his fortune by selling Google stock over the past month—$31 million worth.
He and his wife recently sold 42,000 shares, according to SEC documents. In January, the couple sold the first chunk, 20,000 shares for $730 a pop ($14.6 million), and last week, he and his wife sold 22,000 shares in two transactions at $760 ($16.7 million).
The sale on Friday came as Google's stock was reaching an all-time high of $776.60 (It closed at $775.60). The rise was attributed to news that Google was close to settling the European Union's three-year probe into its business.
Google's previous high was $774.38, reached in October 2012.
Not that Shriram could have timed the sale—as most top executives and insiders typically do, he's set up a 10b5-1 trading plan which dictates his selling according to preplanned conditions. Based on previous sales, it appears that Shriram sets round numbers as price levels at which he automatically sells shares.
Shriram and his wife still own more than 150,000 shares.
Plus, $31 million is pocket change for Ram, who has net worth of $1.6 billion, says Forbes.
Shriram is one of the Valley's golden angels. In his early career he worked for Netscape. Then he founded a company called Junglee, which was bought by Amazon in 1998 for about $185 million. That gave him the capital to invest in Google when it was still operating out of a Menlo Park garage.
Through his venture firm, Sherpalo Ventures, he's also an investor in StumbleUpon, Zazzle, and other startups.
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