Billionaire Bill Gates has 30% of his foundation’s $36 billion portfolio invested in this Warren Buffett stock

• Berkshire Hathaway is the largest holding company of the Gates Foundation Trust.

• The charity’s large investment in Berkshire is a testament to the conglomerate’s history of strong profits.

• Berkshire remains a great stock to buy and hold even with Buffett no longer at the helm.

• 10 stocks we like better than Berkshire Hathaway ›

What is the largest holding in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation portfolio? Perhaps it is surprising that it is not microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT). To be sure, the Gates Foundation owns a sizable stake in the software giant that Gates co-founded. However, Microsoft is only the fifth largest for the charity.

The Gates Foundation Trust’s largest holding is a favorite of Warren Buffett. And approximately 30% of its $36 billion portfolio is invested in this stock.

The stock in question is not just any Buffett stock. I would say they are the quintessential Buffett stock. I mean, of course, Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) (NYSE: BRK.B).

Buffett ran Berkshire Hathaway for more than six decades. Although the legendary investor recently passed the baton to new CEO Greg Abel, he remains Berkshire’s chairman. More importantly, he remains the conglomerate’s largest shareholder.

However, the Gates Foundation Trust is also a major shareholder in Berkshire Hathaway. At the time of the organization’s most recent 13F filing, it owned nearly 21.8 million Berkshire shares, valued at more than $10.9 billion.

This bet was even bigger. The Gates Foundation Trust sold 2.36 million Berkshire shares in the third quarter of 2025, reducing its position by almost 9.8%.

Gates and Buffett have been friends for years. They played bridge together. Gates served on Berkshire’s board of directors from 2004 to 2020. Buffett previously served on the board of directors of the Gates Foundation.

But this relationship is not the reason the Gates Foundation Trust invests so much in Berkshire Hathaway. The most likely reason is that the conglomerate’s shares have been a reliable investment over the years.

Between 1964 and 2024, Berkshire Hathaway earned an overall profit of 5,502%. This performance translates into a compound annual growth rate of 19.9%. In comparison, the S&P 500‘s (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) Compound annual gain over the same period was 10.4%. It’s true that Berkshire lagged the S&P 500 last year. However, it has been a solid investment for the Gates Foundation.

Is Berkshire Hathaway Still a Great Stock to Buy and Hold? I think the answer is a resounding “yes.”

While Buffett is no longer at the helm, he is still active in the company. His philosophy still influences management decisions.

Berkshire continues to generate strong free cash flow. Its wholly owned businesses and holdings in other publicly traded companies are diversified across multiple sectors and industries. Whether or not the conglomerate remains the largest holding in the Gates Foundation’s portfolio, it is worthy of a place in the portfolios of ordinary long-term investors.

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Keith Speights has positions at Berkshire Hathaway and Microsoft. The Motley Fool has positions and recommends Berkshire Hathaway and Microsoft. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Billionaire Bill Gates Has 30% of His Foundation’s $36 Billion Portfolio Invested in This Warren Buffett Stock Originally Posted by The Motley Fool