Google Chairman to Sell $2.5 Billion in Stock

Eric Schmidt is cashing in on his massive pile of Google shares to the tune of more than $2.5 billion.

The chairman and former CEO has filed the necessary paperwork with the SEC that will let him sell roughly 42% of his stake in the search giant over the next year, Google announced Friday after the markets closed.

Over his decade at the company, Schmidt has netted 7.3 million Google shares, representing nearly 3% of the company. At $785.37 a share the stock's new record high, which it hit Friday afternoon  selling 42% would net him roughly $2.51 billion.

Schmidt, 57, is the 138th richest billionaire in the world and the 49th richest in the US, according to the latest Forbes magazine rankings. That's based on an estimated net worth of $7.5 billion  which would have risen anyway, given the stock's recent climb. (Google's soaring share price added $1.3 billion to Schmidt's net wealth between 2011 and 2012.)

The decision to sell may merely reflect a desire to make his wealth more liquid, though we doubt it: Schmidt sold $69.3 million in stock late last year, which is hard for a busy man to spend that fast.

Or it may reflect a sense that Google's share price can't go much higher than it currently is. Either way, traders reacted nervously, and Google (GOOG) slipped three points from its historic high in after-hours trading.

Schmidt's current annual salary as chairman: $1.25 million. He also got a $100 million stock bonus when he transitioned out of the CEO role in 2011.