Billionaires in Europe's ultra-wealthy class have recently liquidated shares worth about $1 billion (approximately 1.35 trillion won). Analysts suggest that it is unusual for them to realize revenue while the European stock market is outperforming global markets.
Bloomberg reported on the 10th (local time) that Martin Lorenzon, co-founder of Spotify, submitted documents to sell 1 million shares of his company worth $660 million at the end of May. This is the largest amount of stock Lorenzon has sold at one time since Spotify went public in 2018.
Maria Del Fino, from the founding family of Spanish infrastructure company Ferrovial, also sold her equity worth 271 million euros (approximately 310 billion won) on May 27. This marks the largest sale in nine years. Twin brothers Thomas and Andreas Strugman, who made significant revenue from initial investments in the German Biotech firm BioNTech, also submitted documents for stock sales worth $100 million.
They remain major shareholders in their respective companies, and according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, their total net worth is approximately $49 billion (66 trillion won).
European stocks are showing a strong upward trend this year, thanks to the strength of the euro and the German government's expansive fiscal spending policy. The Stoxx 600 index, a representative index of Europe, has surpassed the Standard and Poor's (S&P) 500 index by 18 percentage points, reaching an all-time high. According to the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) World Index, seven of the top ten stocks this year are European corporations.
Lorenzon, Del Fino, and the Strugman brothers are believed to have realized revenue amid this market strength. Their stock sales are interpreted as actions to secure liquidity or to restructure their portfolios.
According to a recent survey conducted by UBS targeting ultra-high-net-worth individuals, many family offices in Europe are actually increasing their equity allocation. Most of the 317 institutions allocated about one-third of their portfolios to stocks, and only 10% responded that they plan to reduce their allocation to stocks in advanced countries over the next five years.
In this context, the large-scale selling of stocks by billionaires in a short period is said to be unusual. There is a strong possibility that the cash they secured will be reinvested in private equity, charitable projects, or unlisted companies. Some also speculate that the trading policies of former President Trump and global political uncertainties may have influenced the selling.
Lorenzon is increasing his investment in healthcare startups and Northern European private equity funds, while Del Fino has shown interest in American tech stocks such as Microsoft, Nvidia, and Amazon. The Strugman brothers are known to have turned their attention to real estate investments after generating significant revenue from developing a COVID-19 vaccine approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2020.