Does Bill Gates Own Microsoft
Bill Gates no longer works at Microsoft full time, but he remains a major shareholder through Cascade Investment and a trust for his children. As of early 2025, he holds roughly 1.3 percent of Microsoft shares outstanding, making him one of the largest individual owners of the company. He has sold shares periodically over the years to fund his foundation and other investments, yet his reported position still ranks among the top individual stakes in Microsoft publicly known filings. For the latest shareholding figures, see the Microsoft annual proxy statement on the SEC EDGAR page.
Gates stepped down from the Microsoft board in 2020 and left his day-to-day role at the company years earlier to focus on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He does not hold an executive title at Microsoft, and he has no operational control over product decisions, cloud strategy, or AI investments. His influence today is financial rather than managerial, and his voting power depends on the specific structure of his trusts and the shares he holds directly or through Cascade Investment.
Bill Gates Microsoft Stake Size and Historical Sales
Over the past two decades, Gates has reduced his direct Microsoft ownership from more than 20 percent at the height of his involvement to the low single-digit percent range today. Most of his sales were executed through open-market transactions and planned 10b5-1 trading plans, which are designed to avoid insider trading concerns. The exact number of shares he holds fluctuates with each quarterly filing, and the most recent Form 4 and proxy disclosures show a stake worth several billion dollars at current Microsoft share prices.
Microsoft remains one of the largest companies in the world by market capitalization, and Gates continues to be listed among its most prominent individual shareholders alongside other institutional and insider holders. His stake is smaller than that of active executives and large institutional funds, but it still places him in a highly visible ownership position. Investors tracking Microsoft insider ownership can review the latest Schedule 13D and 13G filings on the SEC EDGAR search page for updated data.
Gates Investment Strategy and Other Major Holdings
Gates manages his wealth primarily through Cascade Investment, which holds stakes in companies across technology, energy, real estate, and consumer sectors. While Microsoft remains a core position, Cascade has also invested in companies such as Canadian National Railway, Ecolab, and Waste Management, reflecting a diversified approach to long-term capital preservation. His investment decisions are often guided by long time horizons and a focus on businesses with durable competitive advantages.
Outside of Cascade, Gates directs significant capital through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which is one of the world's largest private charitable organizations. The foundation invests in global health, education, climate solutions, and financial inclusion, and it occasionally makes large public market investments through its endowment. For broader context on how Gates structures his portfolio and philanthropy, see the foundation's About Us page and recent financial disclosures.