Billionaire Bill Gates Has 60% of His Foundation's $33 Billion Portfolio Invested in 3 Fantastic Stocks

Bill Gates amassed a fortune worth $100 billion by the turn of the century, thanks to the success of Microsoft and a little help from a frothy stock market. At that point, he decided to step down as CEO of the company to focus on philanthropic endeavors. The Gates Foundation has become his primary vehicle for deploying his billions toward causes such as global health and equality. Gates, still worth over $100 billion today despite massive donations, plans to give away 99% of his wealth within the next 19 years.

To help manage the nonprofit's grants, the foundation maintains a trust with investments, including a $33 billion portfolio of publicly traded U.S. stocks. Quarterly reporting requirements give investors a glimpse of what Gates and the investment managers hold, and the stocks might be surprising, considering Gates co-founded one of the biggest tech companies in the world.

Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »

Here are the top three stocks in the Gates Foundation's equity portfolio.

The Gates Foundation received an annual donation from Warren Buffett for 20 years, which came in the form of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRKA) (NYSE: BRKB) Class B stock. Buffett's donations came with the stipulation that the foundation must deploy the entire value of the donation plus 5% of its other assets over the next year to receive the next donation. But that hasn't stopped Gates from holding on to a significant chunk of the stock, making it the largest position in the portfolio.

Berkshire Hathaway's core insurance business has produced solid results so far this year. Underwriting income has grown by about 4.5% through the first six months of the year, despite continued downward pricing pressure. The railroad business continues to lag the market leaders in profitability, but CEO Greg Abel has made it a focus since taking over the role at the start of the year. Operating margin has improved from 29.7% in the first half of last year to 30.8% this year.

Much of the focus with Berkshire Hathaway is on its investment portfolio. Between equities, cash, and Treasuries, the company has approximately $720 billion in investable assets. The biggest move so far this year has been a big increase in Berkshire's stake in Alphabet , which is now its third- or fourth-largest equity position, depending on the day. That's a pretty rapid deployment, considering the company didn't have any Alphabet stock until the third quarter of last year.