Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt Filed 57,681 Insider Transactions — Selling $5.5 Billion in GOOG Stock

Eric Schmidt, the former CEO and chairman of Google (GOOG), filed 57,681 insider transactions during his tenure — selling $5.5 billion in Alphabet stock. That transaction count is one of the highest in SEC Form 4 history, dwarfing most executives by an order of magnitude. Schmidt’s last filing came on February 25, 2019, when he converted and sold his final shares.

The Numbers

Metric	Value
Career Sell Value	$5.54B
Career Buy Value	$698K
Total Transactions	57,681
Last Transaction	2019-02-25
Shares Remaining	0 (direct)

The Scale of Schmidt’s Filing Record

To put 57,681 transactions in context: that’s roughly 16 Form 4 filings for every trading day over a 15-year period. Even Marc Benioff (28,887 transactions) and Mark Zuckerberg (14,741 transactions) — both prolific filers — have less than half Schmidt’s total. The sheer volume reflects Google’s dual-class share structure and Schmidt’s systematic approach to liquidating his position across both GOOG and GOOGL share classes.

Final Transactions

Date	Type	Shares	Price	Est. Value
2019-02-25	Tax (F)	2,723	$1,116.56	$3,040,393
2019-02-25	Tax (F)	2,588	$1,110.37	$2,873,638
2019-01-02	Gift	84,039	N/A	N/A
2019-01-02	Gift	84,039	N/A	N/A

Schmidt’s final transactions were conversions and tax withholdings — the tail end of a massive unwinding that left him with zero direct shares. His 2019 departure from Alphabet’s board ended two decades of insider filings that began when he joined Google as CEO in 2001.

What It Means

Schmidt ran Google from 2001 to 2011 during its most transformative era — from pre-IPO to a $200+ billion market cap. His $5.5 billion in career sales represents one of the largest personal monetization events in tech history, exceeded among Google insiders only by Larry Page ($11.5B) and Sergey Brin ($25.3B).

Since leaving Alphabet, Schmidt has redirected his wealth into defense tech (co-founding Istari Digital), AI ventures, and philanthropic efforts. With no remaining GOOG position, his insider filing era is definitively closed.

What to Watch

• Schmidt’s post-Google ventures — particularly his investments in defense AI and autonomous systems
• How his 57,681-transaction record compares as other tech founders continue their own selling programs
• Alphabet’s remaining insider activity from current board members like John Hennessy