Barron’s reports that Sotheby’s CEO–who took a pay cut this year as part of the company’s restructuring–sold over $650,000 worth of shares recently as the stock leapt to new post-crash heights:

William Ruprecht, Sotheby’s chief executive officer and president sold 40,000 of the company’s shares on Aug. 19 for $659,600, or $16.49 apiece. Ruprecht, who now holds 644,527 shares, retains a 1% stake in the company.

The last time Ruprecht sold with any gusto was the Fall of 2007–the peak of the art market–when Ruprecht realized more than $4m from well-timed stock sales. Sotheby’s November 2007 Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale caused the stock to plummet after Ruprecht had made the bulk of his transactions. According to a Sotheby’s spokesperson:

“Mr. Ruprecht’s sale represents approximately 5% of his equity holdings and was done entirely for liquidity and diversification purposes,”

Which means the CEO still has more than $10m tied up in the company at the current stock price.

Sotheby’s CEO Sells Big Block (Barron’s)