Gates Foundation Ditches Tech for Steady Industrial Giants

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's investment portfolio reveals its preference for steady industrial and consumer companies over flashy tech stocks. The foundation, led by trustee Bill Gates, holds around $34.4 billion in equities, with Berkshire Hathaway being its top stock at approximately $7.4 billion.

This is largely due to Warren Buffett's previous donation of a significant portion of his shares. The foundation trimmed its Berkshire stake by about 2.4 million shares in the second quarter but still holds 14.7 million shares. Its next four largest holdings belong to industrial companies like Caterpillar, Canadian National Railway, Waste Management, and Deere.

The Gates Foundation also owns consumer goods companies such as Walmart, Home Depot, and McDonald's. It initiated its Home Depot position in the second quarter by purchasing 1 million shares valued at over $350 million as of June 30.