Bill Gates' Foundation Trust Significantly Reduces Microsoft Stake in 2025

On December 20, 2025, an X post by @qualtrim highlighted a major shift in the investment portfolio managed on behalf of Bill Gates' philanthropy, claiming that "Bill Gates has sold more than 64% of his Microsoft position, now 4th largest in his portfolio." The post included a table showing Berkshire Hathaway as the top holding at 29.91%, followed by Waste Management, Canadian National Railway, and Microsoft at 13.01% with a noted 64.91% reduction.

This data reflects changes in the Gates Foundation Trust (formerly the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust), the endowment that funds the Gates Foundation's global health, education, and poverty initiatives. The trust's holdings are publicly disclosed via quarterly 13F filings with the SEC.

Key Facts from Q3 2025 13F Filing

• The trust sold approximately 17 million shares of Microsoft (MSFT), representing a 64.91% reduction in its position.
• This generated roughly $8.7–8.8 billion in proceeds (based on average Q3 prices around $510 per share).
• Microsoft dropped from the trust's largest holding (previously ~33% of the portfolio) to the fourth-largest at around 13%.
• Total portfolio value declined from ~$47.8 billion (end of Q2) to ~$36.6 billion (end of Q3).

Updated Top Holdings (as of September 30, 2025)

Rank	Stock	% of Portfolio	Recent Activity
1	BRK.B - Berkshire Hathaway	~29.9%	Reduced ~9.78%
2	WM - Waste Management Inc.	~17.5%	Reduced ~10.24%
3	CNI - Canadian National Railway	~13.4%	Reduced ~5.47%
4	MSFT - Microsoft Corp.	~13.0%	Reduced 64.91%
5	CAT - Caterpillar Inc.	~8.3%	Reduced ~13.60%

Other notable holdings include Deere & Co. (DE), Ecolab (ECL), Walmart (WMT), and FedEx (FDX). The trust fully exited positions in Crown Castle (CCI) and UPS.

Why the Reduction?

This is not Bill Gates' personal portfolio. Gates' personal wealth is primarily managed through Cascade Investment LLC, a private entity with limited public disclosure. Reports indicate that Microsoft's stake remains significant in Gates' personal holdings (estimated ~1% of outstanding shares, worth $30–40 billion), often ranking as his top position.

The Gates Foundation Trust's sales align with:

• Portfolio diversification: Reducing concentration risk in a single stock (Microsoft historically dominated due to large donations from Gates, including ~39 million shares in 2022).
• Philanthropic needs: The foundation plans to increase annual grants to ~$9 billion by 2026 and fully spend down the endowment by 2045, requiring liquidity.
• Long-term strategy under CIO Michael Larson, focusing on stable, value-oriented investments (e.g., increasing exposure to Berkshire Hathaway over time).

The move is consistent with ongoing gradual sales of Microsoft shares by the trust in recent quarters, not a sudden loss of confidence in the company.

Context on Bill Gates' Overall Microsoft Ownership

• Gates co-founded Microsoft in 1975 and once owned ~45% post-IPO (1986).
• Through sales, donations, and his 2021 divorce settlement, his direct stake has fallen to ~0.9–1.3% of Microsoft (as of late 2025 estimates).
• He remains one of the largest individual shareholders but has pledged to give away nearly all his wealth.

Microsoft stock has performed strongly in 2025, driven by AI and cloud growth, but the trust's actions prioritize endowment management over maximizing returns on any single holding.

Market Reaction and Implications

The X post garnered significant engagement, with replies noting the distinction between the foundation's portfolio and Gates' personal one. Analysts view the sale as prudent rebalancing rather than a bearish signal on Microsoft.

For investors: This highlights the importance of understanding whose portfolio is being discussed—personal vs. philanthropic—and the different goals involved.

Sources: SEC 13F filings (Q3 2025), financial reports from Yahoo Finance, Forbes, and Motley Fool (November–December 2025 analyses).