The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust has sold a large portion of its Microsoft shares over the last two years, reducing the tech giant’s weight in its investment portfolio from 27% to just 11%.
According to the latest 13F filing for the quarter ended 31 December 2025, the trust cut its Microsoft holding by 16% over the previous quarter alone. Microsoft now ranks below Berkshire Hathaway, Waste Management, and Canadian National Railway Company in the foundation’s $35.4 billion portfolio.
The sell-off represents a dramatic shift for a trust built largely on Microsoft shares donated by Bill Gates and his former wife, Melinda French Gates. The foundation’s structure separates its charitable work from investment management, with the trust serving as the financial engine that funds the foundation’s initiatives.
The reduction began in Q4 2023, when the trust cut its Microsoft stake by 2.74%. Over the following quarters, the pace accelerated significantly, particularly in Q3 2025, when the trust slashed its Microsoft holdings by 64.91%, the largest single-quarter reduction.
The consistent quarterly sell-offs indicate a deliberate diversification strategy rather than a one-off portfolio adjustment. In Q3 2022, when a large number of Microsoft shares were added to the trust, the stock represented 27% of total holdings, making it the portfolio’s largest position.
By Q4 2025, after eight consecutive quarters of reductions, Microsoft’s share had fallen to 11%, marking a complete reshuffling of the trust’s investment priorities. The other quarters saw reductions ranging from 1.73% to 17%, with particularly heavy selling in Q3 2024 and Q3 2025.
Foundation ramps up spending as Microsoft shares shrink
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is divesting as it increases its annual budget to a record $9 billion in January 2026. This increased funding aims to speed up progress towards achieving the 2030 global goals.
The foundation has committed to spending its entire endowment and closing its doors by 2045. Current efforts focus heavily on reducing child mortality, improving maternal health, and eradicating infectious diseases like malaria and polio.
Bill Gates founded Microsoft with Paul Allen in 1975 after dropping out of Harvard University. He served as CEO until 2000 and as chairman until 2014, resigning from the board entirely in 2020.
Microsoft’s success made Gates the world’s youngest self-made billionaire in 1987, and he held the title of world’s richest person for 16 years from 1997 to 2017.
The trust’s investment strategy focuses on achieving long-term growth and stability whilst preserving capital to fund the foundation’s charitable initiatives.
It holds assets donated by Bill and Melinda Gates, as well as annual instalments from fellow billionaire Warren Buffett, who began donating Berkshire Hathaway shares to the foundation in 2006.
The foundation and its staff have no influence on the trust’s investment decisions, strategies, or activities, maintaining a clear separation between charitable work and portfolio management.
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