The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates in 2000. The foundation is the 2nd largest charitable foundation in the world holding $42 billion in assets as of 2024. The primary goals of the foundation are to enhance healthcare & reduce poverty across the world.
The key individuals of the foundation include Bill Gates, Melinda Gates & Warren Buffett. The CEO of the foundation is Mark Suzman.
The foundation trust holds 24 stocks worth $42 billion. 87% of the fund within the first 5 stocks.
1. Microsoft Corporation (MSFT)
Microsoft was founded by Bill Gates & Paul Allen in 1975. Today Microsoft has dominated the personal computer operating market with the Windows operating system.
The current market cap of the stock is over $3 trillion becoming the most valuable company on the planet Earth. Currently, MSFT shares trade at $411 per share & PE of the company is 37. Microsoft pays a $3 per share dividend of 0.79% dividend yield.
Bill & Melinda Foundation holds 38.2 million MSFT shares worth $14.4 billion which is 34% of the trust.
2. Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B)
Berkshire Hathaway is an investment firm run by the world’s greatest investor Warren Buffett & his partner Charlie Munger. There are 41 traded public companies under the Berkshire hand. These great companies include Apple, Bank Of America, American Express, Coca-Cola, Occidental Petroleum, Moody’s Corporation, Chevron, etc.
BRK-B shares trade around $400 per share & PE ratio is around 9. Bill & Melinda own 19.9 million shares of BRK worth $7 billion or 16.8% of the trust.
3. Canadian National Railway Company (CNI)
Canadian National Railway is the largest railway in Canada in terms of both revenue & the physical size of its rail network. CNI is a public company with 22,600 employees. The market cap of the company is around $80 billion & currently trades at $127 per share.
Earnings per share is $6.19 & PE ratio is 20. Over the past 4 years from 2020 to 2023 total revenue has increased from $13.8 billion to $16.8 & net income has increased from $3.5 billion to $5.6 billion. The free Cash Flow of the company in 2023 is around $3.78 billion.
The foundation owns 54.8 million shares of CNI worth $6.8 billion. 16% of the fund is in CNI stocks.
4. Waste Management Inc. (WM)
Waste Management Inc. is a company operating in North America providing services of waste management & environmental services. The company includes 97 recycling plants, and 26,000 collection & transfer vehicles & the company has the largest trucking fleet in the waste industry. Waste Management provides environmental services to nearly 21 million residents in the United States, Canada & Puerto Rico.
WM shares trade around $206 per share & market cap is $82.7 billion. The total revenue of the company in 2023 is $20.4 billion & net income is $2.3 billion, more than a 10% net profit margin. Net operating cash flow is $4.7 billion & free cash flow is $1.8 billion.
Gates Foundation owns 35 million shares worth $6.3 billion or 15% of the portfolio.
5. Caterpillar Inc. (CAT)
Caterpillar Inc. is an American construction, mining & engineering equipment manufacturer company & Caterpillar is the world’s largest manufacturer of construction equipment.
The market cap of the company is $179 billion right now. The market price of the share currently is $358. CAT pays a $5.20 dividend per share which comes 1.45% dividend yield. The EPS of the company last year was $20 & PE ratio sits at 18.
The company has increased its total revenue from $41.7 billion to $67 billion from 2020 to 2023. Net income has increased $3 billion to $10.3 billion almost 3 times. The company has $87.5 billion worth of assets & $19.5 worth of shareholders’ equity.
Gates Foundation owns 7.3 million shares worth $2.17 billion & 5.14% of the fund is in this stock.
