Billionaire Bill Gates has slightly reduced his exposure to Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.B). According to a newly amended filing, with the SEC, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust have sold around 3.3 million shares. Following the disposal of Securities, the trust, owns almost 83.1 million, which amass 7.1% of the Berkshire’s Class B stock.
The funds cashed in around $380.1 million, from the sale of shares, the filing revealed. At the end of the second quarter, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, managed by Michael Larson, held around 87 million class B shares of Berkshire Hathaway. Cascade Investments, a holding company controlled by Mr. Gates owns another 6.1 million shares of the company. In aggregate, Mr. Gates, currently holds some 89.6 million shares, or 7.7% of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.B)’s Stock.
The CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.B), Warren Buffett, is one of the trustees of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Earlier this year, Mr. Buffett has donated $2.0 billion for the asset trust endowment, raising the total amount of his donations to $13.01 billion, which represent a significant share of the total value of the endowment of $40.2 billion.
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.B) is considered one of the greatest holding companies. For the first nine months of the year, the fund revealed net earnings attributable to shareholders worth $14.5 billion, up from $10.3 million posted a year ago. Since, Berkshire is focused on achieving long-term value from its holdings, its equity portfolio remains almost unchanged. For the previous quarter, the company revealed holding a $19.1 billion position in Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC), a $15.1 billion stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO), and $12.6 billion in International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) stock, which represent the top three positions in its equity portfolio.
On the other hand, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust, have the largest share of their equity portfolio invested in Berkshire Hathaway, the holding amassing over 50% of its equity portfolio, according to the latest 13F. At the same time, on the second place is one of Berkshire’s top holdings, The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO), in which the foundation holds an $1.3 billion position, which contains 34 million shares.
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