Billionaire Bill Gates, chairman and founder of Microsoft Corp., speaks during a financial inclusion forum at the U.S. Treasury Department in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2015. The forum brings together a diverse group of leaders from the U.S. and foreign governments, financial institutions and other corporations, and nonprofits. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

Naming the favourite share of the world’s richest man

Ever wondered which is the richest man on earth's favourite share?

Published on:

04 Dec 2015, 3:30 am

Ever wondered which is the richest man on earth's favourite share?

Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, tops the Forbes billionaire's list with net worth of $79.4bn. Although he retired as CEO seven years ago, Gates is still on Microsoft's board where he is described as its "technology advisor". He owns 300 million Microsoft shares worth $16.5bn, but has been progressively reducing his holding over the years.

Outside of Microsoft, Gates has a share portfolio worth $17.2bn spread between 16 other US-listed companies. A hefty 60% of the portfolio is invested in just one share: Berkshire Hathaway. Put differently, Gates has entrusted an eighth of his total wealth into 79.3m of Berkshire's B shares, currently worth $10.4bn.

The ultimate insider, Gates serves as a director on the Berkshire board chaired by his good pal Warren Buffett. In the three months to end September, Gates bought another $1.5bn worth of Berkshire shares. The stock has fallen 10% this year. What more encouragement do you need?

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