Billionaire Bill Gates Has 66% of His Foundation’s $42 Billion Portfolio Invested in These 5 Dividend Stocks

  • Five of the six largest positions held by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust pay dividends.

  • Most of these stocks don’t pay super-attractive dividends, but one offers a solid dividend yield of 2.43%.

  • Growth investors could be interested in the foundation’s largest holding.

  • 10 stocks we like better than Microsoft ›

Bill Gates could have been the world’s first trillionaire. However, his net worth today is “only” around $117 billion. He’s not hurting, to say the least.

One reason why Gates isn’t even wealthier is that he didn’t hold on to his stake in Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), the software giant he co-founded. Another factor is that Gates has given away a substantial amount of money — a whopping $59 billion — to the charitable organization he and his ex-wife founded, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

This foundation has also given away a lot of money to help people around the world. However, it still boasts a sizable investment portfolio of roughly $42 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2025. And Gates has 66% of his foundation’s portfolio invested in the following five dividend stocks.

Image source: Getty Images.

Unsurprisingly, Microsoft is the largest holding for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust. The company makes up nearly 25.6% of the foundation’s total portfolio, with a stake worth almost $10.7 billion at the end of Q1.

Although many tech stocks don’t pay dividends, Microsoft initiated its dividend program in 2003. The company has increased its dividend for 20 consecutive years. However, Microsoft’s dividend still isn’t all that attractive, with a forward yield of only 0.68%.

Gates donated billions of dollars worth of Microsoft shares to his foundation at its inception in 2000. The stock floundered for years, but began to take off in 2015. Its momentum continues today, thanks to a major tailwind from artificial intelligence (AI) adoption.

Waste Management (NYSE: WM) ranks as the Gates Foundation Trust’s third-largest holding, trailing Microsoft and Berkshire Hathaway. At the end of Q1, the foundation’s position in Waste Management made up nearly 17.9% of its portfolio.

While Berkshire has never paid a dividend, Waste Management has paid quarterly dividends since 1998. The big waste management services provider has increased its dividend for 22 consecutive years. Its forward dividend yield currently stands at 1.48%.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust owned over 54.8 million shares of Canadian National Railway (NYSE: CNI) at the end of Q1, worth around $5.34 billion. This position comprised nearly 12.8% of the foundation’s total portfolio.

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