Gates Foundation Trust Cuts Microsoft Stake, Raises Cash for Grants

The Gates Foundation Trust moved decisively to shrink one of its longest held concentrated positions in the third quarter of 2025, selling roughly 17 million Microsoft shares and cutting its stake by about 65 percent, according to the trust's Q3 13F filing made public on November 24. The regulatory filing, which reports equity holdings as of September 30, showed a smaller public equity portfolio value compared with the second quarter as the trust deployed proceeds to fund grants and rebalance holdings.

The sale left the trust with roughly a third of its prior Microsoft exposure, a reduction that analysts said materially lessens the concentration risk that had defined the trust's portfolio for years. The 13F disclosure covers only publicly traded U.S. equities and does not reflect private holdings, bond allocations or other portfolio components, but it nevertheless provided the clearest public accounting yet of how the foundation is allocating capital to support increased philanthropic outlays.

The timing and scale of the sales will invite attention because Microsoft served as a linchpin of the trust's public equity book. By trimming the position, the trust reduced its potential voting influence in the company and its exposure to a single large cap technology name. Market impact was likely muted because the dispositions were executed over the quarter, spreading liquidity demand rather than concentrating it in a short window, though the reduced stake is significant enough to be noted by corporate governance observers and investors.

The filing also documented a net decline in the overall public equities component of the trust's holdings from Q2 levels. Foundation officials have indicated an intention to fund higher levels of grantmaking, and the liquidation of part of the Microsoft stake supplied immediate liquidity for those commitments while allowing managers to rebalance toward a more diversified mix of assets. For large charitable endowments, the trade off between maintaining concentrated, high conviction positions and preserving liquidity for programmatic spending is an ongoing governance challenge.

Strategically, the move fits a broader trend among major institutional holders that has accelerated since the pandemic era, where concentrated tech bets have been pared back in favor of broader diversification and cash provisioning. For the Gates Foundation Trust it marks a notable portfolio evolution after years in which Microsoft accounted for a meaningful share of public equities. Observers will be watching subsequent 13F filings and other disclosures for evidence of where the trust redeploys proceeds, whether into diversified equity allocations, fixed income, private investments, or direct funding for the foundation's philanthropic agenda.

Regulators, donors, and markets will likely scrutinize the trust for both the financial prudence of the transaction and the transparency of how asset sales are coordinated with grantmaking objectives. The Q3 filing establishes a new baseline for the trust's publicly visible holdings and underscores the balancing act facing large philanthropic endowments between investment returns and mission driven spending.