Bill Gates' Current Investment Focus

As of March 2024, Bill Gates' portfolio was worth \$45.86 billion. The top holdings in his portfolio are Microsoft (MSFT), Waste Management (WM), Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B), Canadian National Railway (CNI), and Caterpillar (CAT). Gates has been focusing on tech giants and industrial stalwarts, with Microsoft making up 33.5% of his portfolio. Other notable investments include Waste Management, which has been bumped up to the second-biggest holding in his portfolio, and Berkshire Hathaway, which has been a stable investment for Gates.

Microsoft

One of the key areas that Microsoft is focusing on is artificial intelligence (AI). The company is at the forefront of generative AI development, creating a suite of Copilots to enhance productivity. Microsoft's AI initiatives are paying off, with Azure cloud experiencing significant growth. In the calendar fourth quarter, Azure revenue increased by 30% year over year, with AI contributing six percentage points to this growth.

Bill Gates' trust made some adjustments to his Microsoft holdings in the first quarter of 2024, trimming its position by 2.7% in the fourth quarter of 2023 and selling 1.7 million shares in the first quarter of 2024. Despite these sales, Microsoft remains the largest holding in his portfolio.

Waste Management

Bill Gates has a large and diverse investment portfolio, with a significant focus on waste management. Waste Management, Inc. (WM) is the third-largest holding in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust's portfolio, with over 35.2 million shares valued at around $7.5 billion as of Q1 2024. WM is a waste management company that provides services in waste removal, landfill management, and recycling. The company has a wide economic "moat", a term popularized by Warren Buffett, which means it has a strong competitive advantage in the market.

In addition to Waste Management, Inc., the Gates Foundation Trust also has investments in other waste management and recycling businesses. These include Waste Connections (WCN), which is a waste collection, transfer, disposal, and resource recovery business in the US and Canada, and Schrodinger, Inc. (SDGR), a healthcare technology company that operates a computational platform for drug delivery.

Berkshire Hathaway

As of May 2024, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is the third-largest individual holding in Bill Gates' investment portfolio, at 15.8% of the portfolio. Berkshire Hathaway is a conglomerate with a diverse range of businesses across insurance, railroads, energy, finance, manufacturing, and retail.

The company's subsidiaries include GEICO, General Re, Berkshire Reinsurance, Dairy Queen, BNSF Railway, Duracell, Fruit of the Loom, NetJets, Precision Cast Parts, and See’s Candies. Berkshire Hathaway also has shared control of Kraft Heinz and Pilot Flying J.

In addition, the company holds significant stakes in several well-known companies, including large stakes in Apple (12.8% share cut in Q1 of 2024) and American Express. They also have notable investments in Bank of America, Coca-Cola, and Wells Fargo.

Canadian National Railway

As of 2024, Bill Gates is the seventh-richest person globally, with a net worth of approximately $128 billion. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has an investment portfolio of around $45 billion.

The Gates Foundation Trust has owned Canadian National Railway since 2013, gradually increasing its stake in the company over the past decade. As of May 15, 2024, the trust held 54.8 million shares of CNI, making it the fourth-largest stock position in the portfolio, comprising 15.8% of the total. CNI also offers a nearly 2% dividend yield.

In the first quarter of 2024, Canadian National Railway reported revenues of $3.11 billion, a 2.4% decline from the previous year, and adjusted earnings per share of $1.26, down from $1.34 in the same period last year. However, these results were in line with expectations. Labor issues and lower-than-expected first-quarter numbers may have contributed to a slight downturn in CNI's performance in 2024.

Despite this, analysts consider CNI one of the most reliable stocks in its sector. The Gates trust's long-term commitment to the company demonstrates its confidence in the stability and potential of this transportation titan.

Caterpillar

Bill Gates is one of the world's premier investors, and his portfolio is worth billions. One of his largest holdings is in Caterpillar Inc. (CAT), a machinery and equipment company that operates in the construction, mining, transportation, and energy sectors.

The Gates Foundation has invested 10% of its funds, approximately $2.6 billion, into Caterpillar, making it one of the largest equipment companies in the world. The company's products are in high demand, and with the US government's focus on infrastructure development, Caterpillar is well-positioned to benefit from increased spending in these sectors.

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