Mark Zuckerberg quietly disposed of over $733 million in Meta shares between January and March, weeks before Trump stunned markets with his trade restrictions. 

The Meta CEO offloaded around 1.1 million shares through the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and its related foundation, operating under a 10b5-1 plan he had set up back in August 2024.

The timing has raised more than a few eyebrows.

Zuckerberg’s selloff came as Meta stock hovered near its peak, even hitting over $736 on Valentine’s Day. By the time the tariffs hit, that momentum had vanished. Meta’s shares spiralled down by over 30%, dragging his net worth with them. According to Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index, he’s now sitting at $178 billion—his lowest this year.

But he wasn’t alone.

In January, Oracle CEO Safra Catz cashed in 3.8 million shares worth around $705 million, right when the company’s stock was trading at record highs. “I have always exercised my options in line with compensation schedules,” she had said previously, but this time, the scale was monumental. With the windfall, Catz entered the Bloomberg Billionaires Index with a $2.4 billion net worth.

JPMorgan boss Jamie Dimon also lightened his load. On 20 February, he sold 866,361 shares for roughly $233.8 million. Then in April, he added another $31.5 million to the tally—bringing his total sales above a quarter of a billion dollars this year.

Nikesh Arora, who runs cybersecurity giant Palo Alto Networks, started earlier. He’s been unloading shares in stages since late 2024. By April, he had sold over 2.36 million shares worth $565 million, though it cost him around $100 million to exercise them.

Then there’s Max de Groen of Nutanix and Chuck Davis of Axis Capital Holdings. De Groen moved 5.5 million shares, pocketing close to $410 million. Davis wasn’t far behind—he offloaded 4.3 million shares for just under $400 million. It’s worth noting Davis also sits at the helm of private equity firm Stone Point Capital.

Palantir’s president, Stephen Cohen, sold 4.06 million shares and collected a tidy $337 million—right as the company’s stock doubled between January and February.

Eric Lefkofsky, head of health-tech firm Tempus AI, stuck to his quarterly 1% divestment rule but still managed to shift more than 4 million shares, raking in $231.5 million.

Netflix’s Ted Sarandos cashed out as well—199,063 shares for nearly $195 million. His newly minted 10b5-1 plan will keep the sales going through February 2026.

Even Dutch Bros chairman Travis Boersma joined the party, selling 2.5 million shares over five days in February for about $189.6 million.

It’s hard to look at the scale of these transactions and ignore the pattern. Each sale occurred before the April 2 tariff bombshell. Each executive sold during a market high. And then—issues.

While they may point to pre-scheduled trades and routine compensation plans, the optics are problematic. The timing is too tight. The profits, too neat. And for retail investors, by the time the market collapses, the big players are already out.

Markets didn’t wait to digest it. Wall Street futures plunged overnight. The Dow dropped nearly 2%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures weren’t spared either, falling 1.72% and 1.45% respectively. 

Europe and Asia took hits too, with London’s FTSE and Japan’s Nikkei both seeing steep losses. Safe havens? Not anymore. Even U.S. government bonds faced a sell-off.

The Chinese Finance Ministry confirmed the tariff hike late Wednesday, saying it would take effect at 12:01 p.m. Thursday. From that point on, American imports into China would face an 84% tariff—up from 34%.

“The tariff escalation against China by the United States simply piles mistakes on top of mistakes,” Beijing said. “It severely infringes on China’s legitimate rights and interests.”

This all began with a deadline. Trump demanded China reverse its own tariff by Tuesday. When that didn’t happen, the White House moved quickly. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt spelt it out: “The president, when America is punched, he punches back harder, that’s why there will be 104% tariffs going into effect on China tonight at midnight.”

She also dangled a small olive branch. “The president would be gracious if President Xi wants to make a deal,” she added. But if there’s an opening for diplomacy, it’s getting harder to find.

For now, both Trump and China are digging in regarding the tariff changes. China’s Commerce Ministry blasted Washington’s move as “unilateral bullying” and “blackmail,” while warning of further countermeasures. 

The Ministry said the 104% tariff was groundless and a violation of international norms. Its response, it said, was to protect China’s sovereignty and development.

China’s retaliation didn’t stop at tariffs. Six U.S. tech firms—including Shield AI and Sierra Nevada Corp—have now been sanctioned. Beijing accused them of selling weapons to Taiwan and collaborating on military projects with the island. That’s a sharp escalation, and not just economic.

Trump, for his part, seems unfazed. At a press event with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, he was asked whether the U.S. might ease off on its global tariff stance. His answer: “We’re not looking at that.”

In the background, over $5 trillion in U.S. market value has been wiped out since Trump’s new tariff policy was revealed. The S&P 500 is down nearly 20% from its peak, technically placing it in bear territory. Oil prices have also crashed, reaching lows not seen since 2021.

The economic pressure is real. But politically, Trump appears to be leaning into the chaos. He posted on social media urging American companies to bring their manufacturing home: “Don’t wait, do it now!”

China, however, has drawn a line. “We will fight to the end,” a statement from state-run Xinhua declared earlier this week. And now, it’s walking that talk.

What’s next? Neither side is backing down. Both have shown they’re willing to take the pain. But then, businesses and consumers are caught in the middle.