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This is not something to be alarmed about; it was both prearranged and preapproved.  It’s still an interesting bit of news, though: Ram Shriram, one of Google’s founding board members, recently sold 100,000 shares of stock.

According to one resource, that means Shriram walked away with around $60,014,212 in hand; it seems quite probable that this development will bump him up a spot or two on Forbes’s list of the 400 richest Americans, where he was number 271.  And, had I not put the “stay calm” disclaimer at the beginning of this article, it seems quite probable that a few of you would be madly dialing your stockbrokers.

Once again, I’ll say that’s not necessary, and the Associated Press will explain why.  “The stock sale was conducted under a prearranged 10b5-1 trading plan which allows a company insider to set up a program in advance for such transactions and proceed with them even if he or she comes into possession of material non-public information.”

Also, it appears that Shriram still owns in excess of 1.5 million shares of Google, so his sale of 100,000 doesn’t even begin to represent a bailout.

Google, meanwhile, is keeping on keeping on.  The company’s stock is currently above $625 per share, and its market cap continues to march towards $200 billion.