3 Surprising Stocks That Billionaires We’re Buying Up for 2018

Bunge Ltd (NYSE:BG)

Billionaire Managed or Founded Funds that Opened Positions in BG: Michael Platt and William Reeves’ Bluecrest Capital Mgmt. (24,133 shares), Jorge Paulo Lemann’s 3G Capital (200,000 shares), Farallon Capital, founded by Thomas Steyer (105,000 shares), Louis Bacon’s Moore Global Investments (145,605 shares)

How Much Money Billionaire Funds Have Invested in BG: $625 million

Four billionaire funds added Bunge Ltd (NYSE:BG) to their portfolios in the fourth quarter, lifting the total to 11 overall. Jorge Paulo Lemann’s 3G Capital, which helped facilitate the Heinz/Kraft merger alongside fellow billionaire investment firm Berkshire Hathaway, took the largest stake in the food company among the four, consisting of 200,000 shares.

Merger Talks With Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) Going Nowhere (But That’s Okay): Bunge shares have gained 7% this year, but have given back most of their gains from the January announcement that Archer Midland Daniels had approached Bunge about a merger, as expectations that a deal would be reached have gradually faded. The deal, which could’ve valued Bunge at as much as $96 per share, has not come to fruition after more than a month of talks, which have reportedly dragged over antitrust issues. Analysts believe that Bunge will be a prized takeover target for other agri-giants should talks officially fall through.

Caesars Entertainment Corp (NASDAQ:CZR)

Billionaire Managed or Founded Funds that Opened Positions in CZR: Paul Singer’s Elliott Management (4.85 million shares), Louis Bacon’s Moore Global Investments (1.88 million shares), Glenn Russell Dubin’s Highbridge Capital Management (521,636 shares), James Dinan’s York Capital Management (1.77 million shares), David Tepper’s Appaloosa Management (5.86 million shares)

How Much Money Billionaire Funds Have Invested in CZR: $1.56 billion

Five billionaire funds opened positions in Caesars Entertainment Corp (NASDAQ:CZR) during the fourth quarter, though two funds also closed positions in the stock. Overall, ten billionaire funds were shareholders of Caesars on December 31. Of particular note is the size of the positions, with the smallest being over 500,000 shares strong. Caesars Entertainment Corp (NASDAQ:CZR) was also a hit among the broader hedge fund industry, as ownership of the stock nearly doubled to 71 of the funds in our database as of December 31 from just 36 as of three months prior.

Caesars Entertainment Corp (NASDAQ:CZR)’s Debtholders Get Paid (in Stock): The surge in hedge fund and billionaire ownership is primarily due to Caesars paying off creditors with stock after its bankruptcy reorganization was completed last October. Appaloosa Management and Elliott Management were among those debtholders, and vocal ones at that, accusing private equity firms TPG and Apollo Global Management of “brazenly looting” Caesar’s most valuable assets following their $31 billion leveraged buyout of the company then known as Harrah’s Entertainment in 2008. Also among those debtholders was billionaire George Soros’ Soros Fund Management, whose position in Caesars grew by over 1,000% during the fourth quarter to 34.5 million shares, lifting it into the top-10 shareholders of the company.

Disclosure: None