Gates Foundation Sells $3.2B Microsoft Stake; Ackman Buys

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust sold its entire $3.2 billion Microsoft holding, the trust said in filings dated May 15, converting its remaining shares to cash to support increased grantmaking and an eventual wind down of the endowment by 2045.

The trust built its Microsoft position over many years through donations of Bill Gates’ personal shares rather than open‑market purchases. Foundation officials have committed to raise annual grantmaking to $9 billion by 2026 and to close the endowment by 2045; converting the concentrated Microsoft holding into cash is part of that funding plan.

The sale was disclosed on May 15, the same day Microsoft shares slipped 0.42% to $422.07. Filings indicate the trust sold roughly 7.7 million Microsoft shares in total. The trust reported that the transaction responds to liquidity needs; sales of donated stock by a private foundation are subject to a federal excise tax of 1.39% on net capital gains.

At the same time, Pershing Square Capital Management disclosed a new position of 5.65 million Microsoft shares. The stake is valued at nearly $2.3 billion based on recent prices. Bill Ackman wrote in a post that Pershing Square will disclose the holding in a 13F filing and described the purchase as a valuation bet on Microsoft’s artificial intelligence business following earlier cloud-related disruptions.

Pershing Square reported a cost basis around 21 times forward earnings. Filings and trading data indicate the firm’s quarter‑long accumulation of shares absorbed part, but not all, of the trust’s supply.

Market activity on the day of the filings showed intraday weakness in Microsoft shares as net selling pressure from the trust’s disposal affected trading, even as investors continued to monitor demand for the company’s cloud and AI infrastructure.

Separately, Microsoft has announced corporate arrangements tied to AI data‑center capacity and a commercial partnership with the London Stock Exchange, including a deal valued at roughly $9.7 billion that relates to data‑center services.

The foundation’s sale eliminated a long‑standing concentrated position in Microsoft and provided cash for the planned increase in grant spending. Pershing Square’s disclosure presents a concurrent institutional view that the shares met the firm’s valuation criteria.