David Velez, eThe billionaire co-founder and CEO of Nu Holdings Ltd., sold shares for the second time on Wednesday since a 2021 initial public offering.
Velez disposed of 31 million shares, or about 3% of his total stake, through his trust Rua California Ltd. to raise US$404 million, according to a documentThe sale is intended for “estate planning purposes,” the company said.
Nu rose more than 5% on Wednesday after reporting second-quarter results that more than doubled from a year earlier. Shares of the digital bank rallied another 3% on Thursday to hit a record intraday high and are now up more than 65% this year.
Nu, the holding company behind Brazil’s Nubank and other subsidiaries operating in Mexico and Colombia, has become the most valuable publicly traded financial institution in Latin America, with a market capitalization of nearly $66 billion. Founded in 2013, it is one of the largest digital banks in the world, with nearly 105 million customers, including almost 60% of Brazil’s adult population.
Colombian-born Vélez made his first share sale in August 2023, selling 25 million shares for $191 million at the time. In an interview, he said the proceeds would largely go toward funding his foundation with his wife Mariel Reyes, which focuses on leadership and education initiatives in Latin America.
Vélez’s stake in the firm is approximately 20%, which gives him a net worth of US$13.1 billionaccording to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
