Bill Gates Is $16 Billion Richer in 2019 and He’s Still ‘Bullish’ on Stocks
Bill Gates' bullish bet on stocks is paying off, causing the Microsoft founder's net worth to surge by $16 billion in 2019 alone. | Source: AP Photo / Markus Schreiber
Bill Gates has tacked on an additional $16 billion to his net worth in 2019, bringing the billionaire’s wealth total to $106 billion — and he’s still bullish on both the stock market and US economy.
However, his bullishness is also tempered by a bit of realism as we move into the next decade and beyond.
Bill Gates Is (Still) Big Into Stocks & His Net Worth Is Surging
Gates has managed to grow his wealth by an impressive $16 billion by taking a not-too-conservative position and allocating over 60 percent of his portfolio — approximately $60 billion — to stocks.
This stands in stark contrast to the bond-heavy investment portfolios many individuals Gates’ age often have. The founder of Microsoft Corporation told Bloomberg Television:
“I’m bullish on U.S. businesses, global businesses. We’re not, you know, in some defensive posture where we’re mostly in cash, or anything like that. The strategy that’s been used on the investments is to be over 60% in equities.”
For the sake of comparison, the standard North American family office portfolio holds 32 percent of its assets in equities — which illustrates just how aggressive Gates’ investment portfolio is.
Don’t Expect Absolute Returns to Speed Up
Gates’ high level of stock exposure (and its corresponding impact on his net worth) underlies an obviously-bullish sentiment from the American business magnate. Given that the United States has been experiencing its longest expansion in history — lasting a decade, so far — it’s not surprising.
However, Gates doesn’t expect the post-recession “bull run in everything” to continue much longer — at least, not to the extent that it has over the past decade. Microsoft’s founder stated:
“There’s reasons to think absolute returns for the next decade will be less than they have been for the last several decades.”
Though Gates tempers optimism going into future decades, he seems far from alarmed by the current state of the US stock market and global economy — which has some economists calling for a deep and hard recession in the near future.