Billionaire Bill Gates Has 51% of His Portfolio Invested in 2 Brilliant Stocks

The Bill and Melinda Gates (BMG) Foundation Trust had $42 billion invested across 24 stocks as of the fourth quarter

but 51% of that sum was concentrated in two positions: 34% in Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and 17% in Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) (NYSE: BRK.B)

[{"selector":"#anim-b82c006a-2113-4a9c-a3f2-1e6bfd0c02d7","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-21a01b59-b45d-4c4b-8dc2-569b145aa83d","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, -239.77948%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]

What makes the BMG Foundation Trust noteworthy is its 41% return during the three-year period that ended in December 2023

[{"selector":"#anim-592f529c-6a42-4a4e-83ed-cdb2ea181ca4","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-5e40914c-148a-4b81-acae-a7d54c0e2489","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, 145.94907%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]

The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) returned just 33% during the same time frame. Much of the BMG Foundation Trust's outperformance can be attributed to its largest holdings.

[{"selector":"#anim-00bb446b-078c-4f9c-9bba-d9b2e4afc681","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-22e6ec22-86f4-4395-8f69-fad42f59f988","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(115.09433%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]

Microsoft and Berkshire have been brilliant investments over the last three year, returning 74% and 54%, respectively.

[{"selector":"#anim-509184e8-e292-4bbd-8f36-826c2368a83e","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-32a15464-68ea-4050-a148-1366f161891a","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-114.46541%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]

Microsoft reported third-quarter financial results that beat Wall Street's expectations on the top and bottom lines

[{"selector":"#anim-dff8625f-2d2c-4a18-a34c-8a2edcb6a46e","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-1bb0dd36-9b74-4dfb-8e4c-fd2e4df468a7","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, -384.70511%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]

Revenue increased 17% to $61.9 billion on particularly strong sales growth in enterprise software and cloud services, partly driven by demand for artificial intelligence (AI) products. Meanwhile

[{"selector":"#anim-9e99233d-b601-4db5-a274-32cb6cf68fe3","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-f3e12dda-4413-403a-9080-910da0f1c084","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, 127.60356%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]

GAAP net income jumped 20% to $2.94 per diluted share because of disciplined expense management and stock buybacks.

[{"selector":"#anim-1dd82ab1-c4a9-4db4-9246-ca87788b0e9b","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-1cc64274-fddf-4274-b1f6-09cb36236cdd","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-114.46541%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]

GAAP net income jumped 20% to $2.94 per diluted share because of disciplined expense management and stock buybacks.

[{"selector":"#anim-b26d57bd-4e3e-4b64-a56a-cf2063f46cef","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-2221e007-edf3-4cdf-8a3f-270e5b10aa68","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(115.09433%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]