How Bill Gates Invests

By Henry Cooper

Dec 22, 2022

Level: General

Reading time: 4 min

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Bill Gates is an impressive human being. He has a near-perfect 1,590 out of 1,600 on his SATs, almost became an AI researcher, and reads 50 books a year. But for many people, what’s more interesting about the Forbes-listed business magnate is his finances.

This article will answer questions about Bill Gates’ investing style and asset allocation.

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How much is Bill Gates worth?

Up until a few years ago, Bill Gates was worth around $134 billion. But in May 2021, Bill and Melinda Gates announced their split, and the discussions over the separation contract lasted for the rest of the year.

Reports on how Bill Gates’ assets were divided in a divorce claim that Mr Gates’s net worth rose by $23 billion. The settlement process was by no means an easy one, as Gates’ combined fortune after 27 years of marriage was subject to numerous disputes.

Now, Bill Gates is worth an estimated $104.2 billion. He is one of the few moguls worth more than $100 billion, along with Elon Musk, Bernard Arnault, Gautam Adani, Jeff Bezos, and Warren Buffett.

Where does Bill Gates keep his money?

Is Bill Gates an investor? While it’s not his core activity, he has a lot of his financial investments held by him personally, his family office known as Cascade Investments, or through The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

These are the main categories of investments associated with Gates:

Corporations

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Most of Gates’ investment activity is focused on stock purchases, the latest being a 9.8% stake at Strategic Hotels and Resorts, Branded Entertainment Network, ResearchGate, and Four Seasons. Other notable holdings belong to The Gates Foundations, which are detailed below.

In total, Cascade Investments’ stock portfolio is worth over $35 billion.

Real estate

Gates owns a mansion, nicknamed Xanadu 2.0, that overlooks Lake Washington in Medina. The massive 66,000-square-foot home is his main residency.

The billionaire also has amassed property in Wellington, Florida. In 2013, he bought a mansion and horse ranch and started purchasing adjoining parcels, including a $21-million horse farm. He is also rumored to own an island off the coast of Belize in Central America.

Planes, automobiles, and collectibles

Bill Gates owns two Bombardier BD 700 Global Express jets, rare Porsche cars, a Leonardo Da Vinci manuscript, and many works of art (including Distant Thunder by Andrew Wyeth, The Nursery by William Merritt Chase, and Room of Flowers by Frederick Childe Hassam.

Philanthropic missions

Gates Ventures, his private VC firm, invests in clean energy, education, healthcare, and poverty alleviation.

In 2022 alone, Gates gave $20 billion to charity. He reiterated his pledge to give away “virtually all” his $113 billion in the future. He encourages his fellow billionaires to donate to charitable causes, too.

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Gates Foundation’s most prominent stock holdings

According to the latest SEC filing on May 16, 2022, The Gates Foundation holds 19 stocks. Some of the most prominent ones are:

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B), approximately 28.7 million shares
Waste Management (WM), over 18.6 million shares
Canadian National Railway (CNI), over 13.07 million shares
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT), over 7.35 million shares
Schrodinger Inc. (SDGR), more than 6.9 million shares
Microsoft (MSFT), 1.3% of the company

The portfolio also contains shares of Walmart (WMT), Ecolab (ECL), Coca-Cola FEMSA (KOF), Deere & Company (DE), FedEx Corp. (FDX), Madison Square Garden Sports Corp. (MSGS), United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS), along with a few others.

Final thoughts

Bill Gates’s entrepreneurial endeavors and investment portfolio have generated a large capital for him and his Foundation. But it’s not only his business acumen that made it happen. There is a skilled investment team working behind the scenes, as well.If you’re looking for investment ideas, you can look at Cascade or Foundations holdings. Some of the stocks held there are beating the S&P 500 index.

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