For more than half a century, Microsoft and Bill Gates have been inseparable, first as co-founder and architect of one of the world’s most powerful technology companies, and later as a philanthropist whose foundation was deeply funded by the very firm he created.
That financial link has now fully ended.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust has sold its final 7.7 million shares of Microsoft Corporation in the first quarter of 2026, ending a gradual two-year exit that began with 28.5 million shares. The stake was valued at about $3.2 billion, according to filings reported by The Times of India.
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The exit closes a decades-long arc in which Microsoft stock formed the backbone of the foundation’s investment portfolio, at one point accounting for nearly 27% of its holdings in 2022.
From founding stake to philanthropic engine
Microsoft, founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, became the defining force of the personal computing era — from MS-DOS to Windows, and later cloud computing under CEO Satya Nadella.
Gates, who dropped out of Harvard to build the company, led Microsoft through its explosive growth before stepping down as CEO in 2008 and later as chairman in 2014. He fully stepped away from the board in 2020.
As Gates transitioned away from operations, his wealth — largely built through Microsoft equity — became the financial engine of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, one of the world’s largest philanthropic organisations focused on global health, education and poverty reduction.
Gradual unwinding of Microsoft holdings
The foundation began reducing its concentrated Microsoft position in late 2023, accelerating sales in 2025 when nearly 65% of holdings were offloaded. By early 2026, the final tranche had been sold, completing a structured wind-down aligned with the foundation’s long-term plan to disburse its endowment.
Gates has committed to deploying the foundation’s capital more aggressively, targeting full distribution by 2045 — a shift away from perpetual endowment models used by many large charities.
At its peak, Microsoft represented a dominant share of the foundation’s portfolio, supplemented over the years by contributions from investors including Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway.
A symbolic separation in the AI era
The final exit comes at a moment when Microsoft has reasserted itself at the centre of the global technology race, particularly in artificial intelligence and cloud infrastructure under CEO Satya Nadella.
Even as philanthropic and financial ties dissolve, Microsoft remains deeply embedded in global markets — including recent multi-billion-dollar data centre deals and partnerships tied to AI infrastructure expansion.
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The timing of the foundation’s exit also coincided with renewed investor interest in the stock, including a fresh $2.3 billion position disclosed by hedge fund manager Bill Ackman on the same day the sale was reported.
End of a financial era
While Gates stepped away from Microsoft’s board in 2020, the foundation’s holdings ensured a lingering financial connection to the company he co-founded nearly five decades ago.
That link is now formally closed — marking not just a portfolio reshuffle, but the final stage in the separation of one of the most influential founder-company relationships in modern corporate history.
