Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, is one of the richest people in the world. Besides making money, he is well-known for his kindness and giving. Gates gives a lot of his money to help people through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which works to reduce poverty and improve healthcare around the globe. Warren Buffett, the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, was a trustee of the foundation until 2021.
The foundation has an investment portfolio worth $44 billion, with most of this money in just three big companies:
Microsoft (29%)
It’s no surprise that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation owns a large amount of Microsoft shares, about 29 million worth $12.5 billion. Gates first donated Microsoft shares to his foundation in 2001. Even though they sold about 26% of their shares last year, the value of the remaining shares increased, making Microsoft their biggest investment. The company’s recent moves—like investing in OpenAI and improving its Azure service—helped Microsoft’s revenue grow by 33% last quarter. Because of this, Microsoft shares have skyrocketed by 60% since the last donation from Gates to the foundation in 2022.
Berkshire Hathaway (23%)
Warren Buffett has been donating shares from his company, Berkshire Hathaway, to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation every year since 2016. He changes his Class A shares into Class B shares so he can give while keeping control of his business. The Gates Foundation has around 22 million shares of Berkshire Hathaway valued at $10 billion. Although there’s talk of selling some of these shares, they are holding onto a good number by selling other stocks.
Waste Management (15%)
One of the oldest stocks in the foundation’s collection is Waste Management. They currently own about 32.2 million shares and regularly add more. Recently, they sold about 3 million shares worth $6.5 billion in the third quarter.
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