So why are America's mega-rich including Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg off-loading billions of dollars in stock? Super wealthy are in a race to 'sell high' and invest cash away from the market amid volatile global geopolitics and election

The mystery of the billions of dollars worth of stock sold by some of the wealthiest in the world despite the market continuing at an all time high remains.

The mass sale has prompted fears of a economic downturn, or it could be fears of a looming hike in taxes.

The tech bubble showed it was under extreme strain throughout 2023 with mass layoffs hitting Silicon Valley while President Joe Biden has promised a hike in taxes for the super rich should he win reelection in November.

As JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon pointed out in a grim earnings statement in October: 'This may be the most dangerous time the world has seen in decades.'

At the tail end of last year, it was reported that wealthy investors kept less than 25 percent of their net assets in the stock market .

Investors sell off for a variety of reasons, tax season in the US is right around the corner, or some simply want to diversify with all of these companies now firmly established as major players on Wall Street.

It could also be simply the oldest adage of the market, sell high.

In February 2024, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos sold $8.5 billion worth of stock during a nine period.

Jamie Dimon sold $150 million worth of his stock, the first time he'd much such a move since taking over the reins of the famed bank in 2006.

In October, Dimon laid out a laundry list of major issues: the Russia-Ukraine War, the new war between Israel and the Palestinians in Gaza, high levels of government debt and deficits, high inflation, as well as the tight labor market, where worker demands for increased wages have led to high-profile strikes in manufacturing and entertainment.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg was also in on the act, selling off $428 million of Meta stock in 2023.

Between February 21 and 24, the family behind Walmart, the Waltons, sold $1.5 billion worth of stock. That brought their total amount sold since December to $2.3 billion.

It's unclear where exactly these billionaires will spend their money. Zuckerberg's sell off will pay for his new c ompound on the Hawaiian island of Kauai said to cost nearly $300 million.

Bezos meanwhile has backed away from Amazon in order to spend more time on his other things, including the rocket company, Blue Origin, and his philanthropy. It's possible that he could want to direct funds to those projects.

The amount of stock sold by CEOs and founders between December 2023 and February 2024 came to a total of $11.5 billion at a time when those stocks were trading at an all time high.

The $8.5 billion sold by Bezos is less than the $8.8 billion he sold in 2021. In 2021, Zuckerberg also parted ways with $2.8 billion between November 2020 and July 2021.

Despite this, gold, often referenced as a safe alternative to the volatile stock market, was trading at a near record high of nearly $2,200.

According to a report from Fortune, all of the above sales in question were set up months in advance per Securities and Exchange Commission rules.

Bezos announced that he was leaving his longtime home in Seattle last year to move to Miami, buying two properties on the ultra-exclusive Indian Creek island dubbed 'billionaires bunker.'

While in the Sunshine State, Bezos will take advantage of tax laws that are favorable to the mega wealthy.

Bezos purchased two mansions for $147 million and is reportedly looking to buy a further three homes on Indian Creek.

Bezos said the move was to be closer to his parents and rocket launches at his Blue Origin space company, but it also came with a major tax perk.

An Investor's Business Daily report speculated that Bezos for example may simply have wanted to sell because he had not been active in selling his stock since 2021. The same could be said of Jamie Dimon.

Despite the seemingly big figures, Bezos, Zuckerberg and Dimon all still maintain large stakes in their companies.

CNBC wealth editor Robert Frank said in an October interview that it appears as though the rich are simply in 'wealth preservation mode.'