Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s share portfolio revealed
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust, which hit a record share portfolio value of $35 billion, has reduced its stake in Warren Buffett-owned Berkshire Hathaway and dumped its shares in Weber.
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and his former wife, Melinda Gates, started the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000.
In 2006, the foundation’s trustees established a two-entity structure that separated the program work from the investment of the foundation’s assets.
The two entities are the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which distributes money to grantees, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust, which manages the endowment assets and funds the foundation.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Trust currently holds 22 stocks.
Warren Buffett-owned Berkshire Hathaway has been the trust’s top holding since 2007 but dropped to second place in Q4 2022. In Q1 2023, it fell to third place.
The foundation started selling its Berkshire Hathaway shares in Q3 2022 when it reduced its stake by 14.41%.
In Q4 2022, the trust reduced its Berkshire Hathaway shareholding by a further 16.84%, and in Q1 2023, it reduced its stake by 20.25%.
However, Berkshire Hathaway is still the foundation’s third-largest holding, comprising 16.67% of its portfolio.
The foundation also sold 100% of its shares in Weber in Q1 2023 – a stock it has held since Q3 2021. Weber is a US-based manufacturer of charcoal, gas, and electric outdoor grills with related accessories.
The foundation made no acquisitions in Q1 2023, and technology giant Microsoft remains its top holding, comprising 31.05% of the portfolio.
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Q1 2023 portfolio
| Stock | Portfolio percentage | Shares | Value |
| MSFT – Microsoft | 31.05% | 39,264,670 | $11,320,004,000 |
| CNI – Canadian National Railway | 17.74% | 54,826,786 | $6,467,916,000 |
| BRK.B – Berkshire Hathaway | 16.67% | 19,689,845 | $6,079,633,000 |
| WM – Waste Management | 15.77% | 35,234,344 | $5,749,188,000 |
| CAT – Caterpillar | 4.62% | 7,353,614 | $1,682,801,000 |
| DE – Deere & Co. | 4.44% | 3,917,693 | $1,617,537,000 |
| ECL – Ecolab | 2.37% | 5,218,044 | $863,743,000 |
| KOF – Coca-Cola | 1.37% | 6,214,719 | $500,098,000 |
| WMT – Walmart | 1.22% | 3,020,859 | $445,426,000 |
| FDX – FedEx | 0.96% | 1,534,362 | $350,586,000 |
| WCN – Waste Connections | 0.82% | 2,149,175 | $298,886,000 |
| CCI – Crown Castle International | 0.52% | 1,420,072 | $190,062,000 |
| SDGR – SCHRODINGER | 0.50% | 6,981,664 | $183,827,000 |
| CPNG – Coupang | 0.41% | 9,248,045 | $147,969,000 |
| UPS – United Parcel Service | 0.39% | 740,689 | $143,686,000 |
| MSGS – Madison Square Garden Sports | 0.32% | 592,406 | $115,430,000 |
| KHC – Kraft Heinz | 0.28% | 2,622,600 | $101,416,000 |
| DHR – Danaher | 0.26% | 373,000 | $94,011,000 |
| HRL – Hormel Foods | 0.24% | 2,195,290 | $87,548,000 |
| ONON – On Holding | 0.04% | 500,000 | $15,515,000 |
| CVNA – Carvana | 0.01% | 520,000 | $5,091,000 |
| VRM – Vroom | 0.01% | 2,500,000 | $2,247,000 |
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