- Bill Gates reportedly has a half a billion dollar short on TSLA stock
- The short was revealed through a text message conversation with Elon Musk
- Gates’ largest holding is Berkshire Hathaway Class B (NYSE:BRK-B)
In April, it was revealed that Bill Gates had a roughly half a billion dollar short position against Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA). The position was revealed after a text message exchange was disclosed between Gates and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Furthermore, Musk confirmed the legitimacy of the exchange via a tweet. In the exchange, Musk asks Gates if he still owns a short position against TSLA stock. Gates reportedly responded: “Sorry to say I haven’t closed it out. I would like to discuss philanthropy possibilities.”
Gates did not disclose the Tesla short via a quarterly 13-F filing. This is because the short is most likely an outright short, which is not required to be disclosed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). With that in mind, let’s take a look at what Bill Gates is betting on.
What Does Bill Gates Own in His Portfolio?
Bill Gates manages two investment vehicles, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust. The foundation has assets under management (AUM) of $186 million, while the trust has an AUM of $19.76 billion. Let’s go over the details of the trust first.
As of Q1, the trust’s largest holdings in order are Berkshire Hathaway Class B (NYSE:BRK-B), Waste Management (NYSE:WM) and Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI). Gates seems to be a big fan of Warren Buffett, as BRK-B stock accounts for a massive 51% of the trust’s entire holdings. Meanwhile, WM has a 15% allocation, and CNI has a 9% allocation. The trust is also extremely concentrated and holds only 18 positions, while its top 10 positions account for 95.92% of the entire portfolio. During Q1, Gates sold off 5 million shares of BRKB and made no changes to his WM and CNI positions.
Like his trust, Gates’ foundation is extremely concentrated as well. The fund owns a total of 11 positions, with its top 10 positions accounting for 99.89% of the entire portfolio. The foundation’s largest positions in order are Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR), CureVac (NASDAQ:CVAC) and LumiraDX (NASDAQ:LMDX). VIR accounts for 21.5% of the foundation’s portfolio, while CVAC and LMDX both account for around 18% of the portfolio. During Q1, Gates purchased 881,363 shares of VIR and sold off 1.42 million shares of CVAC. His LMDX position remained constant.
The foundation’s portfolio is interesting, as six of the 11 total positions are related to healthcare. This makes sense, as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has an ultimate goal of “fighting poverty, disease, and inequity around the world.”
On the date of publication, Eddie Pan did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
