How Rich Is Bill Gates? 14 Top Bill Gates Company Names And The Businesses He Invests In 2022

What are the companies owned by Bill Gates? What is Bill Gates’ most recent investment? Here’s a list of companies the billionaire owns and invest in 2022.

Bill Gates is an American business tycoon, software developer, investor, and more recently, philanthropist.

After dropping out of Harvard University and founding Microsoft in 1975, Gates has at times been the richest man in the world with an estimated net worth of $129 billion.

Bill Gates has retired from his day-to-day works at the office of Microsoft and has all his attention based on building a strong empire through his philanthropic works, via the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

He founded Cascade Investment in 1995 to manage his investments outside of Microsoft. The firm employs over 100 people and has significant stakes in hotel, rail transport, beverage, and waste management companies.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is very famous now since it was founded just to fight against diseases and eradicate poverty from the world, which everyone sees as a good course. The foundation holds almost $47 billion in assets and tackles entrenched global issues around poverty, healthcare, and climate change. They also educate people all over the world. Despite this good effort by the Bill and Melinda Foundation, they still have a substantial portfolio of investments, which its capital is used to help other businesses, create solutions to complex and entrenched problems all around the world.

The foundation also has several trust investments in companies such as Berkshire Hathaway, Caterpillar, FedEx, Walmart, and UPS.

The former CEO of Microsoft, Bill Gates, is currently the third-richest man in the world, with his net worth estimated to be around USD $146 billion according to Bloomberg.com. He dropped from the peak to this position, after Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, moved to the apex with Tesla’s Elon Musk, coming in between them as the second-richest man in the world.

The following are some of the Foundation’s most prominent holdings, including their market values as of the filing date of June 30, 2020, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

All other financial information, including market capitalization data for the below companies, was as of December 22, 2020. Market capitalization—or market cap for short—is the aggregate value of a company using the total number of outstanding equity shares multiplied by the company’s current stock price.

How Rich Is Bill Gates? 14 Top Bill Gates Company Names And The Businesses He Invests In 2022

#1. Microsoft

In popular culture, Microsoft is the company most commonly associated with Bill Gates.

But in truth, Gates sold most of his shares in the company in 2000 – the same year he stepped down as CEO. He now serves as a technical advisor and has relatively little to do with day-to-day operations.

Having said that, he maintains a 3.6% stake in the company through Cascade Investment. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation also has a small stake.

How Rich Is Bill Gates? 14 Top Bill Gates Company Names And The Businesses He Invests In 2022

#2. Berkshire Hathaway, Inc.

Bill Gates Foundation’s investment portfolio has Berkshire Hathaway Inc, as the largest holding among all his invested companies. The Foundation has nearly 40 million shares of Berkshire Hathaway which has a market value of over $7 billion. Berkshire Hathaway is one of the largest companies in the S&P 500, with a market value of $522.43 billion.

During the recent ranking in the world, Berkshire Hathaway was ranked sixth in the 2020 Fortune 500 list. Billionaire Warren Buffett, who is also an investor in this company, is a very good friend to Bill Gates after they met somewhere in 1991.

Bill Gates also served as a member of the Board of Directors alongside his good friend Buffett, until March 2020 when he retired. As good investors, both have pledged to give out a greater portion of their wealth towards philanthropic works.

How Rich Is Bill Gates? 14 Top Bill Gates Company Names And The Businesses He Invests In 2022

#3. Waste Management, Inc.

Waste Management, Inc. (WM) is the second-largest holding in the Foundation’s portfolio. The Foundation owns over 18.6 million shares with a market value of $1.97 billion.

Waste Management is a provider of waste management and associated environmental services. It further develops and operates waste to energy and landfill gas to energy facilities in the United States.

It is the largest waste management company in the country, with over 20 million customers. The company has a market cap of more than $49.73 billion and was ranked 207th on the 2020 Fortune 500 list.

How Rich Is Bill Gates? 14 Top Bill Gates Company Names And The Businesses He Invests In 2022

#4. Canadian National Railway Company

Canadian National Railway Company (CNI) is the third-largest holding of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The Foundation has over 17.1 million shares with a market value of $1.51 billion.

Canadian National Railway provides integrated transportation services including rail, trucking, freight forwarding, and warehousing. This company has main objectives which are the transportation of petroleum products, grain and fertilizers, coal, metals, and automotive products. It has a market cap of $74.1 billion.

Through the foundation and his personal investment company, Gates is the largest single shareholder at approximately 10.04%.

How Rich Is Bill Gates? 14 Top Bill Gates Company Names And The Businesses He Invests In 2022

#5. Caterpillar Inc.

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) is a manufacturer and designer of heavy vehicles used in the energy, mining, and agriculture industries. It also sells financial products such as insurance to customers through a global dealer network.

The company is the fourth-largest holding of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Caterpillar has a market value of more than $1.42 billion, with which the Foundation holds over 11.2 million shares. Being ranked as the 62nd in the world on the 2020 Fortune 500 list, Caterpillar can boast of a market cap of $77.52 billion.

How Rich Is Bill Gates? 14 Top Bill Gates Company Names And The Businesses He Invests In 2022

#6. Walmart Inc.

Walmart Inc. (WMT) is the fifth-largest holding in the Foundation’s portfolio, with more than 11.6 million shares and a market value of nearly $1.38 billion.

Walmart Inc. is a retail giant with stores and operations worldwide. Walmart operates supercenters, discount stores, and supermarkets.

The company came to dominate the retailing industry, by keeping a laser-like focus on reducing costs everywhere especially in the supply chain and distribution.

Walmart also owns Sam’s Club, where it operates warehouse clubs. Walmart has a market cap of $407.25 billion and was ranked number one on the 2020 Fortune 500 list. Walmart’s total revenue of $135 billion rose 5.2% over the year.

How Rich Is Bill Gates? 14 Top Bill Gates Company Names And The Businesses He Invests In 2022

#7. Crown Castle International

This is a company that operates as a real estate investment trust. Crown Castle International, owns cell phone towers with small cells where larger towers are not feasible, and fibre connections for data transmission. The management of this company expects growth of their company, in terms of revenue from $375 million to $405 million, which is classified differently. In rent, the company is expected to jump from $90 million to $100 million. Despite it having a weak competitive advantage over others, Crown Castle’s scale is something its competitors do not have.

#8. Ecolab

Ecolab was founded by Merritt J. Osborn, who was by then the inventor of a new cleaning product called the Absorbent. However, Ecolab which means Economic Laboratory is a great industry leader which generates roughly $15 billion annually. Ecolab is one of the best when it comes to business. They are consistent in everything. Bill Gates has a percentage portfolio of 3.9% in Ecolab.

#9. Coca-Cola FEMSA SAB

Coca-Cola FEMSA is responsible for the production, marketing, and distribution of Coca-Cola beverages. Their products are all over places including countries like Mexico, Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Philippines, Costa Rica, Panama among others. This company is in a strong financial position, with low levels of debt. With 1.1% percent, Bill Gates’s portfolio looks awesome.

#10. Schrödinger Inc.

Schrodinger Inc. is a health care technology company that operates with the aim to accelerate drug delivery internally and externally. Through its software, Schrödinger has generated strong growth over the past years. Their total revenue increased by 29%. It also grows at an annual rate of 24%. The Foundation of Bill Gates has a percentage of 1.1% in this company.

#11. Apple, Inc.

Apple Technology, the manufacturers, designers, and sellers of products ranging from smartphones, computers, and portable digital music players. Apple also has other business services that sell music, apps, and subscriptions. This company is responsible for the best-selling smartphone in the world; the iPhone. Over the year, Apple has generated a revenue of $274.5 billion, representing a percentage of 5.5 increase as compared to other years. Apple also generates a lot from their business units such as iCloud, iTunes, Apple Music, App Store, etc.

#12. Four Seasons Hotel and Resorts

Four Seasons Hotel and Resorts is an international luxury hotel and resort company.

Founded in 1961, the company operates more than 100 hotels and resorts around the world. Gates together with Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia own 95% of the company in shares after a $3.8 billion investment in 2007.

#13. FedEx

Curiously, Gates has significant stakes in FedEx. FedEx Corporation is a shipping and transportation company, which provides a variety of services including e-commerce, transportation, and business services. FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Freight, and FedEx Services are segments under FedEx Corporation. This company provides domestic and international shipping and delivery services. With 3.5% percent going to Gates portfolio, the Foundation is really earning a lot from here. His investment in this company is generally viewed as a way to profit from the growing eCommerce trend.

#14. United Parcel Service (UPS)

This is a logistic and package delivery company that offers services to the public including transportation, distribution, ground freight, ocean freight, insurance, and financing. The operations of this company are split into three segments; U.S. Domestic Package, International Package, and Supply Chain & Freight. Bill Gates’ Foundation holds a percentage portfolio of 3.4% in this company. His investment in this company is also generally viewed as a way to profit from the growing eCommerce trend.

Summary

Bill Gates is a billionaire investor and philanthropist. He owns a significant stake in many companies through The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and personal investment firm Cascade Investment.

Bill Gates is most commonly associated with Microsoft, but the founder sold most of his Microsoft shares after stepping down as CEO in 2000. He instead favors investment in evergreen industries such as waste management, heavy machinery, and transportation.

Berkshire Hathaway represents the largest holding of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Gates and founder Warren Buffett have been friends for decades and share similar philanthropic values.

Which of the above investments and companies owned by Bill Gates have you tried their services and how well will you recommend someone else to try too? Share your response with us in the comment box below…

Related Posts

Leave a Comment