A new report reveals that Bill Gates purchased 3.76% stake in Dutch drinks giant Heineken Holding NV last week in spite of the billionaire Microsoft founder’s previous admission that he was “not a big beer drinker.”
A filing by the Netherlands’ Financial Markets Authority said the shares were purchased on Feb. 17. Heineken Holding owns a controlling stake in brewer Heineken NV. Gates purchased the shares from Mexico’s FEMSA, which is selling out of the brewing company.
A separate filing from the same day showed that FEMSA sold all 18 million shares it held in Heineken Holding. Shortly after, Gates purchased 10.8 million shares, worth $939.87 million at current market prices, triggering a disclosure requirement under Dutch stock market rules.
Gates has previously confessed to not being a “big beer drinker” in a 2018 “Ask Me Anything” chat session on Reddit.
“When I end up at something like a baseball game I drink light beer to get with the vibe of all the other beer drinkers. Sorry to disappoint real beer drinkers.”
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the charitable organization launched by the billionaire and his former wife, wasn’t immediately available for comment.
Some of Gates’ previous purchases have been placed under notable scrutiny, such as his recent purchases of significant swaths of farmland across the United States.
In July of last year, Gates spent $13.5 million on a purchase of farmland in North Dakota, which earned opposition and a legal challenge, but was ultimately approved.
As of 2021, his largest holdings in the U.S. included 69,071 acres in Louisiana, 47,927 acres in Arkansas, 25,750 acres in Arizona, 20,588 acres in Nebraska and 16,097 in Washington state.
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