Why Bill Gates's Full Microsoft Exit Shouldn't Have Come as a Surprise — Final $3.2 Billion Sale Ends Era

Bill Gates has severed his foundation's final financial tie to Microsoft. The trust liquidated its remaining shares to secure cash flow for an ambitious philanthropic spending pledge leading up to the organisation's closure in 2045. (Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Lukasz Kobus)

The Gates Foundation Trust no longer holds even a single share of Microsoft. A 13F filing made public on 15 May confirmed that the trust sold its remaining 7.7 million shares during the first quarter of 2026, Daily Investor first noted. The position was worth roughly $3.2 billion (£2.5 billion) at the time.

Headlines treated it as a bombshell. In practice, the exit had been unfolding in plain sight for more than two years.