Sheryl Sandberg leaves Meta as one of many highest-profile and most profitable ladies in tech — and after greater than $1.7 billion in inventory gross sales.

Sandberg introduced Wednesday that she is stepping down from her role as chief operating officer after 14 years at Meta, previously often called Fb. Sandberg will stay on the social media firm’s board.

Sandberg’s wealth totals an estimated $1.6 billion, in keeping with Forbes, making her the second wealthiest lady in tech after Meg Whitman. Whitman beforehand held the highest job at Hewlett Packard Enterprise and is price an estimated $3.2 billion, in keeping with Forbes.

Sandberg can also be one of many uncommon non-CEOs and non-founders to turn out to be a billionaire.

Whereas many company executives have a tendency to carry on to the majority of their shares as a present of confidence of their firms, Sandberg has been an aggressive and constant vendor of Fb (now Meta) inventory.

Over the previous decade, Sandberg has bought over 75% of her after-tax shares via often scheduled share sale applications, in keeping with analysis corporations that observe the gross sales. In whole, she bought over 22 million shares for greater than $1.7 billion, in keeping with analytics agency VerityData. Relying on the therapy of choices and restricted inventory gross sales, the whole might really be greater, in keeping with one other analytics agency, Good Insider, which calculates her inventory gross sales at nearer to $1.9 billion.

“Her gross sales over the previous decade makes her one of many greatest insider sellers at any U.S. firm,” mentioned Ben Silverman, director of analysis at VerityData.

A spokesperson for Sandberg mentioned she acquired 48 million restricted inventory items, choices and shares throughout her time on the firm. About 20 million had been bought for taxes, and he or she bought 22 million of the remaining 28 million via a 10b5-1 pre-schedule promoting program.

Sandberg cashed out shares at a variety of costs as Fb shares soared. The inventory priced at $38 per share within the firm’s preliminary public providing in 2012 and peaked above $382 per share in September.

Sandberg’s common inventory sale value over the previous decade was $79.10 per share, in keeping with VerityData, together with her most up-to-date sale in October 2019.

Regardless of her billionaire standing, Sandberg hasn’t proven the penchant for yachts, personal jets and seaside houses proven by different tech tycoons. Based on media experiences, in 2013 she moved right into a newly constructed, 9,200-square-foot house in Menlo Park, California, near Fb’s headquarters, that encompasses a wine room, gymnasium, waterfall and photo voltaic panels on the roof.

Sandberg has additionally gifted a number of the proceeds of her gross sales to charity. In 2016, she gave $107.2 million to her donor-advised fund at Constancy Charitable. On the time she did not say which charities she would fund, however has mentioned she plans to help applications that enhance alternatives for ladies and women.

Sandberg’s spokesperson mentioned she had made whole reportable items of 4.9 million shares, with 2.8 million shares to her donor-advised fund and a pair of.1 million irrevocable transfers to trusts for beneficiaries. Good Insider estimates Sandberg has given away $484 million in shares.

In saying her departure on Wednesday, Sandberg mentioned the choice to depart Meta will enable her to focus extra on her philanthropic work.

Sandberg has additionally been an lively political donor, contributing to Democratic candidates and ceaselessly internet hosting Democratic fundraisers.

She nonetheless owns almost 1.5 million shares, with a present market worth of about $290 million, in a revocable belief. She additionally has 333,642 shares of unvested restricted inventory, a few of which can vest earlier than she leaves.

Meta shares closed on Wednesday at $188.64.