Bill Gates donated billions of dollars of the two shares to the Gates Foundation.
When Bill Gates announced last month that he would donate $20 billion to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation — part of a move to increase philanthropic group giving — he did not share details of what assets he gave away.
Forbes noted that according to a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the bulk of its endowment at the end of July consisted of transfers of about 44.5 million shares of Canadian National Railway worth nearly $5.2 billion. That left Gates with a 1.4 percent stake in the $1.2 billion company as of Tuesday’s close.
Gates’ investment firm Cascade has reduced its stake in the Canadian railroad company. Last year, he transferred part of his estate to Melinda French Gates as part of their divorce settlement. Bloomberg first reported that in March and April of this year, Gates sold about $940 million of Canadian National Railway stock. In May, he sold another $730 million worth of shares. Gates has been interested in the company through Cascade since at least 2013.
The stock has doubled in value and has paid an annual dividend of at least $1 per share since 2015.
Late last month, according to SEC filings, Gates also gave the Gates Foundation a nearly $1.3 billion stake in tractor and farm equipment maker Deere & Co.. Gates now owns a 6.5% stake in Deere, worth about $6.7 billion. He also transferred part of his stake in Deere & Co. to Melinda French Gates in August 2021 as part of their divorce settlement. Deere shares are down about 5% so far this year.
The shared prize from Canadian National Railway and Deere & Co. accounts for just under a third of the $20 billion Gates gave to the Gates Foundation.
A Gates spokesman did not answer to requests for comment about the stock or other assets Gates transferred.
The shift in wealth has knocked 66-year-old Gates down to one place to become the 5th richest person in the world in news real-time ranking of world billionaires. India’s Gautam Adani rose to fourth place. Gates’s net worth is $109.9 billion as of Tuesday afternoon after trading.
Through his investment firm Cascade, Gates also has stakes in waste management firm Republic Services and Waste Management and auto salesman AutoNation, among others. Gates is estimated to own about $28.6 billion in Microsoft stock, a little over 1% of the company. After stepping down from the board, he stopped reporting his stake in Microsoft in 2020.