Bill Gates Gives $955 Million Worth of Deere & Co. Shares to Foundation

By Kathryn Hardison

Bill Gates has gifted more than $955 million worth of Deere & Co. stock to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, another donation made this week as part of the billionaire's pledge to gift $20 billion to the foundation's endowment.

The co-founder of Microsoft Corp. transferred more than 3 million shares of Deere stock to the foundation on Thursday from Cascade Investment LLC, according to Friday filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Deere shares closed Thursday at $316.54, according to FactSet, which values the donation at roughly $955.3 million. Shares fell 1.4% to $312.26 at market close on Friday.

The foundation said Friday that Mr. Gates also gifted more than $5 billion worth of Canadian National Railway Co. stock.

Led by Mr. Gates and his ex-wife, Melinda French Gates, the foundation earlier this month pledged to increase its annual payout by 50% over pre-pandemic levels, to $9 billion a year by 2026.

Mr. Gate's $20 billion pledge brings the foundation's endowment to around $70 billion.

Write to Kathryn Hardison at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 22, 2022 17:53 ET (21:53 GMT)

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