Bill Gates is best known as the founder of Microsoft (MSFT 0.73%), which has been one of the world's most valuable companies for the last 30 years. It's the company that propelled his net worth to over $100 billion before the turn of the century, well ahead of anyone else reaching that level of wealth.
Gates gradually stepped back from Microsoft since then, focusing on building his charitable foundation. Today, Gates' net worth isn't much above the level it reached 25-plus years ago, as he has given away a significant portion of it to the foundation. He said he intends to give away practically all of his wealth over the next 20 years.
The Gates Foundation trust holds a portfolio of publicly traded stocks worth about $38 billion based on its most recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). While Microsoft is among those stocks, 59% of the portfolio is held in three other phenomenal companies.
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1. Berkshire Hathaway (29.1%)
The Gates Foundation receives an annual donation from Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A 0.46%) (BRK.B 0.38%) Chairman Warren Buffett. The Oracle of Omaha previously served as a trustee for the foundation. His most recent donation consisted of 9.4 million Class B shares of the company's stock.
While Buffett's annual donation stipulates the organization must use the entire value of his donation plus 5% of its other assets, the trust managers have decided to hold onto a significant portion of Buffett's donations over the years. As a result, it holds approximately 21.8 million shares of Berkshire Hathaway, worth around $10.9 billion today.
The stock performed well under Buffett's leadership since he first started donating shares, but investors are still waiting to see how Greg Abel will do at the helm of the massive conglomerate. Abel took over effective Jan. 1, and he's now in charge of the $670 billion of investable assets across equities, Treasury bills, and cash, not to mention the conglomerate's dozens of fully owned subsidiaries acquired over the last 60 years.
NYSE: BRK.B
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But Buffett left Abel on solid footing. Berkshire has a fortress of a balance sheet, and its core insurance business continues to chug along despite a big setback from the California wildfires at the start of 2025. While Abel isn't well known as an investment manager, he's a proven operator. He may hand off more of the investing responsibilities to others while focusing on what he does best.
Investors seeking to add Berkshire to their portfolio may have a chance to do so right now. The stock price has stagnated since Buffett announced his retirement in May, but the company's operations continue to generate strong cash flow, and the assets on the balance sheet continue to grow every quarter. As a result, shares trade at a price-to-book value ratio around 1.5, which has been a good price to pay for the stock in recent years.
2. WM (16.7%)
WM (WM +0.89%) isn't exactly the kind of stock you might associate with a billionaire tech founder, but it speaks to the influence of Buffett on Gates' investment style and the directive of the fund managers. Formerly named Waste Management, it's a boring business with a seemingly insurmountable competitive moat.
At the core of WM is a solid waste collection and disposal business, i.e., the trash trucks rolling around almost every city all week. That's supported by its portfolio of over 260 landfills. The regulatory hurdles to building new landfills make that position practically impenetrable and force smaller waste haulers to contract with WM for disposal through its transfer stations and landfills. As a result, its core business continues to produce strong revenue growth and improving operating margin as it benefits from leveraging its position to raise rates on households, businesses, and third-party waste haulers.
NYSE: WM
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The strength of that core business has enabled WM to withstand headwinds, such as reduced pricing for recyclables and renewable energy, which it faced in the third quarter. It also provides management with the ability to grow via strategic acquisitions, as it recently did with the purchase of Stericycle, now WM Healthcare Solutions. While the margins on the medical waste business are lower, management can bring them up closer to the core business as it scales and builds synergies with its waste hauling and recycling operations.
WM is a leader in its industry, but the stock still trades for an attractive valuation relative to its peers. With an enterprise value to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) estimates ratio of less than 14, it's a fair price to pay for a company in a dominant position that should be able to grow steadily with continued price increases, operating leverage, and strategic acquisitions.
3. Canadian National Railway (13.6%)
Canadian National Railway (CNI 2.22%) (CNR 1.87%) is another slow-growing, boring business with a wide competitive moat, further illustrating the influence of Buffett on the Gates Foundation trust fund.
Canadian National's geographic coverage puts it in a highly advantageous position. Its tracks run coast to coast through Canada and down through the United States all the way to New Orleans. While many feared that tariffs enacted by the Trump administration would curb import revenue for the railroad operator, management has been able to offset the decline in metals, minerals, and forest products with an increase in petroleum and chemicals, as well as in grain, coal, and fertilizers.
That said, the railroad industry isn't exactly growing like gangbusters. Canadian National's total volume grew at an average annual rate of just 1% in the five years from 2020 through 2024 and stayed flat through the first nine months of 2025. Freight rate increases have pushed revenue higher but slowed in 2025.
NYSE: CNI
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The good news is that there are substantial barriers to entry in the railroad business. It's impractical for a new company to spend the capital required to lay down new track and buy trains without already established contracts for freight. Scale is a significant advantage, and the industry has undergone substantial consolidation over the years as a result of that reality.
That moat has allowed Canadian National's management to control its capital expenditures (capex) and produce strong free-cash-flow yields. Free cash flow grew 14% in the first nine months of 2025, and management expects further improvements in 2026, driven by capex reductions.
With an enterprise value-to-EBITDA ratio of less than 12, it trades at a lower valuation than its peers. As such, it appears to be a great value stock to hold for the long term, as it can generate steady free-cash-flow growth and repurchase shares over time to boost earnings per share.
