Ex-Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, the same man who once bragged about never selling any of his stake in the company, now plans to sell 29% of his personal Uber shares to SoftBank and several other investors.
And that’s “only” because Uber wouldn’t let him sell more…
“Hold me back, bro”
Travis reportedly attempted to offer up nearly 50% of his piece of the pie, but had to tone it down due to limits laid out in the contract between Uber and the buyers.
Kalanick has yet to comment on the deal, but after cashing out he’ll have about $1.4B Washingtons to play with…
So, what’s he up to?
While we don’t know Travis’s actual motivations for the move, we have a few guesses:
- He wants to live the good life: Though Kalanick’s holdings make him one of the richest people in the world on paper, he’s comparatively cash-poor. This would make him a billionaire.
- He’s giving Uber a big middle finger: It’s possible Kalanick just doesn’t have as much faith in Uber without him at the helm (or at least, that’s the point he wants to make). Petty? Sure. But we’re not putting it past him.
- He’s pulling a Steve Jobs, circa 1985: AKA, taking all of his toys, going home, starting a new company (called “Unter,” we assume), selling his tech back to Uber 10 years later, and making a triumphant return as CEO.
Ya know, same things we’d do with $1.4B.