Bill Gates is one of the most familiar names on the Forbes list of billionaires. His claim to fame (and fortune) was at , where he led the company from its founding in 1975 until 2006, when he transitioned away from full-time work at the company to spend more time on his foundation.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was formed to help people in countries that struggle with disease and poverty live a more healthy and productive life. Since 2000, the foundation has spent more than $53 billion toward this goal.

At the end of 2023, the foundation trust, which manages the foundation's endowment assets, held $42 billion worth of stocks, including Warren Buffett's gift of Berkshire Hathaway shares. The trust holds positions in several industry leaders, including Microsoft, Walmart, and FedEx. These are the types of quality companies you would expect a responsible foundation to invest in to preserve and grow assets in a relatively low-risk manner.

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Source Fool.com