By the morning of August 4, a sudden rally after the quarterly earnings erased all stock market losses Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) had suffered in 2026 – previously one of the firm’s worst years on record – and pushed the equity 3.11% into the green.
The sudden change in the trend simultaneously ensured that the first-quarter (Q1) decision by the Gates Foundation to completely wipe its MSFT position might have been one of its worst.
While the exact transaction date is unknown, Microsoft stock hit highs of $483.47 and lows of $356.77 during Q1, and its average price in the timeframe stood at $435.22.
Under the circumstances, unless Bill Gates’ foundation sold near the top, it could have missed up to $1 billion in proceeds relative to what it would have received had it waited until early August 2026.
If you invested $1,000 into Microsoft stock during Q1 lows, you’d now have this much
On the flip side, if a different investor took Microsoft’s abysmal early 2026 performance as a buy rather than a sell signal and purchased $1,000 worth of MSFT near the quarter’s bottom, they’d have $1,366.85 by press time.
Additionally, even if they bought at the period’s average price of $435.22, they would still have a portfolio worth $1,120.47. Finally, even buying at the top of the Q1 range would have yielded a profit – though a significantly smaller one – as $1,000 would have turned into $1,008.65.
Bill Gates Foundation Microsoft stock sale likely part of 2045 sunsetting plan
Meanwhile, it is arguably unlikely that the Gates Foundation deliberately timed its most recent and final sale of Microsoft stock. Indeed, it has been exclusively selling the equity since late 2023, and the latest purchase was as far back as Q3 2023.
Furthermore, Bill Gates outlined his plans to sunset his organization by 2045 already in the first half (H1) of 2025 when he declared his net worth would drop by an estimated 99% within roughly two decades.
In about a year, the value of the Gates Foundation portfolio dropped by approximately 25%, with the 13-F filing covering Q1, 2025, showing total holdings worth $41.8 billion and the Q1, 2026, document indicating $31.6 billion.
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