The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust oversees investment assets designated to support the philanthropic endeavors of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, with Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates serving as trustees. Michael Larson at Cascade Asset Management Company manages these investments. Approximately half of the Gates Trust's 13F equity portfolio comprises investments in Berkshire Hathaway. These holdings have been contributed to the Foundation gradually over the past decade by Warren Buffett. Most estimates value Warren Buffett's total donation of Berkshire stock at over $11 billion and continuing to increase.
Michael Larson serves as the chief investment officer for both the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the personal wealth of Bill Gates managed by Cascade Investment since 1994. Larson opted to pursue his undergraduate studies at Claremont McKenna, where he graduated in three years with a degree in economics. He later earned an MBA from the University of Chicago. For nearly thirty years, Larson has overseen Gates' finances, exponentially increasing his wealth from under $10 billion to nearly $130 billion.
In their most recent 13F filing for Q4 2023, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust reported managing $42,283,338,859 in 13F securities, with a top 10 holdings concentration of 96.39%. Their largest holding is in Microsoft Corp., with 38,210,869 shares held.
