Moderna CEO Who Made a Fortune from COVID-19: "Most of My 5 Trillion Won Wealth Will Be Donated to Society"

"Exercise and Sale of 80,000 Moderna Stock Options per Week for the Next 12 Months"

Stefan Bancel, CEO of Moderna.
Photo by AFP Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] Stefan Bancel (50), CEO of the American pharmaceutical company Moderna, announced that he will donate most of his wealth, which amounts to about 5 trillion won.

According to Bloomberg on the 26th (local time), in an interview at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF, Davos Forum) held in Davos, Switzerland, CEO Bancel said, "My children will receive a good education and have a house to live in," adding, "But I will donate the rest."

Specifically, he stated that he will exercise 4.59 million stock options of Moderna, acquiring 80,000 shares per week over the next 12 months until June 2023, and donate the proceeds from selling the stocks. CEO Bancel said, "Based on $140 per share, this will raise about $355 million (approximately 448 billion won) in donations."

He also said, "I will return most of my wealth to society," and "I plan to use the donations especially to advance medical technology and address the food crisis."

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, CEO Bancel's net worth is estimated at $4.1 billion (about 5.1742 trillion won). The media reported that he holds a 5.4% stake in Moderna.

Moderna, which was a vaccine development startup, developed and marketed a COVID-19 vaccine, and its stock price, which was about $20 in February 2020 before the pandemic, rose to about $500 intraday in August last year. CEO Bancel's wealth increased proportionally. The closing price as of the 26th was $135.5.

Meanwhile, it was previously reported that CEO Bancel earned $408 million (about 490 billion won) by selling stocks during the COVID-19 pandemic. In March, CNBC reported, "Since January 2020, when the COVID pandemic began, CEO Bancel sold about 2.8 million shares worth $408 million (about 490 billion won)."