With an estimated net worth of more than $100 billion, Bill Gates is one of the world's richest people. Want to know which stocks he's betting on? Billions of dollars are tied up in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and some of the trust's top five positions might surprise you.
Gates loves these five stocks
While Bill Gates doesn't directly manage his foundation's holdings, he does have a direct ability to influence its portfolio. Any stock owned by the foundation, therefore, has Gates' explicit blessing.
According to the latest filings, Microsoft (MSFT -1.73%) holds the No.1 position in the portfolio at around $15 billion -- roughly one-third of the total. That shouldn't be surprising; Gates founded the company in 1975, generating most of his fortune from his original stake, although his position has been gradually whittled down over the years.
The second-largest position in the foundation's portfolio is just a bit more surprising: Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A -0.39%) (BRK.B -0.56%). The stake is worth around $10 billion, roughly 20% of the entire portfolio.
But Gates' bet on Warren Buffett's holding company shouldn't be a shock for those who have followed their friendship over the decades. The two have deep respect for each other, and this investment likely reflects that reality. Plus, Berkshire Hathaway has been a great investment for decades anyway, whether or not you have a personal relationship with Buffett.
The final stocks that round out the foundation's top-five positions are Waste Management (WM -0.49%), Canadian National Railway (CNI -0.67%), and Caterpillar (CAT -0.62%). It's a bit surprising to see the portfolio so heavily invested in the industrials sector, but all of these companies have what Buffett advises investors to look for: economic moats with strong brand names and histories.
The foundation's portfolio is also heavily diversified across nearly two dozen positions. But these five stocks should give you a jumping-off point for additional research.
