Bill Gates Splashes $939.8 million On Beer Stock, Now Worth $105.5 billion

Bill Gates has invested in Heineken Holding NV, a beer manufacturer, a filing by the Netherlands’ Financial Markets Authority (AFM) has disclosed.

Gates directly bought 6.65 million shares and indirect shares of 4.18 million through Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust, a humanitarian investment vehicle he owns with his former wife. 

The shares acquired are worth $939.8 million. It hands Gates 3.76 per cent of Heineken Holding and expands his investment portfolio. 

Gates’ investment is spread across Microsoft Corp, Berkshire Hathaway Inc, Canadian National Railway Co (CNI), Waste Management Inc (WM) and Caterpillar Inc (CAT). 

The billionaire bought the shares from Fomento Económico Mexicano (FEMSA), a shareholder of Heineken Holding (parent company of Heineken NV), that was offloading its stake in the brewer. 

FEMSA owns 18 million shares in Heineken, worth around €3.7 billion. The firm wants out from Heineken Holding, putting its €1.9 billion worth of shares in Heineken NV for €91 per share. 

It was gathered that FEMSA also placed €1.3 billion worth of shares in Heineken Holding at €75 per share, to complete its exit from the brewer. 

While FEMSA is making its way out of Heineken, Gates is heading in, as he bets $939.8 million on the future growth of the alcoholic manufacturer. 

Gates is a respected investor in the global private sector since he established Microsoft with the late Paul Allen in 1975.

He is currently the sixth richest person in the world. The billionaire is worth $105.5 billion, falling behind Bernard Arnault, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Larry Ellison and Warren Buffet.

Arnault is the richest person in the world worth $207 billion, Musk is next on the list with $195.3 billion, Bezos holds the third spot with $117.4 billion, Ellison is the fourth, with a networth of $112.7 billion and Buffet taking the fifth spot with $106.2 billion.