From Farm Land To Bud Light, Here Are Notable Investments Bill Gates Has Made In The Past 2 Years

When it comes to investing, Bill Gates is no stranger. While you'd expect the majority of his investments to be in the tech sector, Gates has had great success investing outside of his comfort zone.

Gates continues making new investments through his personal wealth, holding company Cascade Investment and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Here are some of Gates's most notable investments made over the past two years.

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Farmland

Gates has made major investments in agricultural land across the United States. His largest acquisition occurred in 2021 when he bought roughly 269,000 acres of farmland across 18 states for nearly $700 million. 

His farmland produces major crops like corn, soybeans, cotton and rice. Gates also owns thousands of acres of transitional and sustainable farmland. 

Four Seasons Hotels

Through Cascade Investment, Gates acquired a controlling stake in Four Seasons Hotels in 2021 at an enterprise valuation of $10 billion. Gates invested alongside co-buyer Prince Alwaleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia with the objective of gaining exposure to luxury hospitality in the wake of COVID-19. This followed an earlier investment where Cascade bought half of Four Seasons in 2007.

Bud Light Maker

In 2021, Cascade Investment paid $272 million to acquire a 6.3% stake in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, the world's largest beer brewer and producer of Budweiser, Corona and Bud Light. 

This investment reflects Gates's long-held interest in consumer goods and beverages. The stake makes Gates the third-largest shareholder in the beer giant.

Sportradar

In April 2022, Cascade Investment was part of a consortium that acquired leading integrated sports betting and sports entertainment provider Sportradar for $4.6 billion. 

Gates's stake focused on how Sportradar provides data and analytics to sports leagues like the NBA and betting operators. This shows Gates's growing interest in the fast-growing sports analytics market.

Carbon Capture Startups

Gates has invested in multiple startups working on next-generation carbon capture and storage technology through his Breakthrough Energy Ventures. Investments include CarbonCure Technologies, Pangea Filtration Technology and Cemvita Factory. The goal is to help fund and commercialize new solutions to reduce CO2 emissions. Gates believes carbon capture innovation is vital to mitigate climate change.

Breakthrough Energy Ventures is one the largest investors in green-tech startups looking to reduce global emissions in the world. The fund has invested hundreds of millions into innovative startups looking to combat global emissions. For example, Gates invested in Heliogen, a startup looking to replace fossil fuels with AI-powered solar fields. The startup previously raised from retail investors on StartEngine-owned SeedInvest, in which retail investors got better terms in the startup than Gates before the company went public.

Altus Power

In 2021, Cascade invested $50 million into Altus Power, a renewable energy developer for commercial and community solar projects. This supported Altus's acquisition of solar project developer Standard Solar and reflects Gates's priority of funding clean energy companies to curb carbon emissions and combat climate change.

Gates is best known as the founder of Microsoft Corp. and for his philanthropy, but these investments prove that he's still deeply involved in investing, including real estate and startup investing.

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