Marc Andreessen sells $54.1M in Facebook stock to pay Uncle Sam
The Facebook board member is bullish on Facebook -- but he has a whopping tax bill.
If you think your tax bill was bad, try being Marc Andreessen.
The venture capitalist and Facebook board member disclosed today in an SEC filing that he sold more than 2.3 million shares of Facebook at prices ranging from $22.85 to $23.83 per share. All told, the sales added up to more than $54.1 million.
The selling is not a reflection of his belief in Facebook, however. Rather, he's using the money to pay taxes that he owes from his restricted stock units, which were recently converted into actual shares. Facebook said in September that Andreessen and board member Donald Graham both planned to sell stock to cover their tax liabilities.
"Marc is selling as many as shares as he needs to sell," said Margit Wennmachers, a partner at Andreessen Horowitz. "He believes in Facebook long-term, as does the firm. We are holding on to our primary investment shares."
Last week, Andreessen Horowitz distributed some Facebook shares to its investors due to Facebook's purchase of Instagram.
Graham, the CEO of The Washington Post Co. and longtime Facebook board member, also reported today that he sold $6.7 million worth of stock. And COO Sheryl Sandberg sold $4.2 million worth of shares.