Jeff Bezos has sold $4.1 billion (£3.16 billion) worth of Amazon shares in the past week marking the largest seven-day selldown by any billionaire executive on record.

The online retailer’s founder and chief executive sold 2 million Amazon shares between January 31 and February 6, representing around four per cent of his holdings in Amazon according to Bloomberg.

This is understood to be part of a pre-arranged trading plan, but marks a stark uplift in share sales from the billionaire who has until now largely refrained from cashing in his stock even as Amazon shares skyrocketed.

READ MORE: $400m in Amazon stock offloaded by MacKenzie Bezos

While it’s not known exactly why Bezos has begun offloading shares, he has previously said he planned to cash in around $1 billion a year to fund his space programme Origin Blue.

Bezos recent divorce from ex-wife MacKenzie, who also offloaded $400 million (£308 million) in Amazon stock last month, is also thought to have motivated the sell off.

According to terms of the pair’s divorce made public on Twitter, Bezos retained 75 per cent of his company’s stake, which means it is likely the pair agreed to a cash payment in return for such an uneven split.

Cash has also been earmarked for Bezos Day One Fund, a charity providing education in low-income communities and helping tackle homelessness.

On a less charitable note, the New York Post reported Bezos is also currently shopping for a mega-mansion in Los Angeles with his girlfriend Lauren Sanchez.

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