In one of the most significant financial moves in recent memory, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust executed a dramatic portfolio overhaul during the third quarter of 2025 that has left market analysts and observers stunned. The trust, which manages one of the world's largest philanthropic endowments, revealed through its latest 13F filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission that it had drastically reduced its stake in Microsoft Corporation - the very company that founder Bill Gates built from scratch.
Massive Microsoft Divestment Shakes Portfolio
The most eye-catching move in the foundation's quarterly report was the substantial reduction of its Microsoft position. The trust sold exactly 17 million shares of Microsoft, representing a staggering 65% cut from its previous holding. This brought down their Microsoft stake from over 26.19 million shares to just 9.19 million shares remaining.
This strategic divestment generated approximately $8.267 billion in liquidity for the foundation. Financial experts view this move as a calculated effort to address portfolio concentration while simultaneously generating funds for the foundation's expanding charitable activities. The Microsoft sale alone accounted for the bulk of the portfolio's value decline during the quarter.
Complete Portfolio Restructuring Unveiled
The third quarter of 2025 was exclusively a period of selling for the Gates Foundation Trust, with no new purchases made and no existing positions increased. This pure divestment strategy resulted in the trust's total portfolio value plummeting from $47.78 billion at the end of Q2 to $36.58 billion as of September 30.
The foundation also streamlined its investment portfolio by reducing the total number of unique holdings from 25 to 23. Beyond the Microsoft reduction, the trust trimmed several other blue-chip investments, though these moves were less dramatic than the anchor position sale.
The reshuffling has created a new hierarchy among the trust's major holdings. Berkshire Hathaway, Waste Management, and Canadian National Railway have now emerged as the top three positions in the portfolio. Interestingly, the value of the remaining Canadian National Railway stake now slightly exceeds the reduced Microsoft position.
Strategic Alignment with Philanthropic Goals
Analysts familiar with the foundation's long-term strategy see this move as consistent with the trust's established goal of avoiding excessive single-stock concentration. The massive Microsoft divestment serves dual purposes: reducing dependency on one stock while generating substantial capital for the foundation's charitable work.
This financial rebalancing comes at a time when Bill Gates has been vocal about redirecting global priorities. Recently, the Microsoft founder called upon the United Nations to make a "major strategic pivot" from what he described as a "doomsday view" of climate goals toward more immediate concerns like vaccine distribution and poverty alleviation.
Gates has publicly defended this pragmatic approach, emphasizing the trade-off between addressing long-term climate change versus the more immediate, fatal consequences of inadequate healthcare and poverty in developing nations. His stance has gained particular relevance following dramatic cuts in international aid by wealthy countries, with the United States taking a leading role in these reductions.
The foundation's latest financial moves appear to strategically position the organization to increase its annual charitable spending significantly. By converting concentrated stock positions into liquid assets, the trust ensures it has the financial flexibility to fund its expanding philanthropic commitments across global health, development, and education initiatives.
