Bill Gates charity trust’s holdings in fossil fuel firms rise despite divestment claims

Bill Gates wrote in 2021 that he had been sceptical of divestment and did not see how ‘divesting alone would stop climate change’. Photograph: Jae C Hong/AP

The Gates Foundation Trust holds hundreds of millions of dollars in fossil fuel extractors despite Bill Gates’ claims of divestment made in 2019.

End-of-year filings reveal that in 2024 the trust invested $254m in companies that extract fossil fuels such as Chevron, BP and Shell. This was a nine-year record and up 21% from 2016, Guardian analysis found. Adjusting for inflation, it was the highest amount since 2019.