WSJ: Gates Foundation Sells Off Most Health-Care, Pharmaceutical Holdings

[Sapiens]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125029373754433433.html

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the world's largest private philanthropy fund, sold off almost all of its pharmaceutical, biotechnology and health-care investments in the quarter ended June 30, according to a regulatory filing published Friday.

The Seattle-based charity endowment, set up by Microsoft Corp. founder Bill Gates and his wife, sold its total holding of 2.5 million shares in health-care giant Johnson & Johnson in the quarter, according to the filing.

The foundation also sold millions of shares in major drug makers, including 14.9 million shares in Schering-Plough Corp., almost 1 million shares in Eli Lilly & Co., 8.1 million shares in Merck & Co. and 3.7 million shares in Wyeth, over the same time period. The foundation no longer holds shares in any of those companies.

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I am being pitched every and whatever angle… hedge funds, brokers, vultures, you name it; God knows, none of them have a clue how dirty this turning will be.

[Rajiv]

Re: WSJ: Gates Foundation Sells Off Most Health-Care, Pharmaceutical Holdings

Thank you Sapiens. Reinforces my thinking and strategies.

[FrankL]

Re: WSJ: Gates Foundation Sells Off Most Health-Care, Pharmaceutical Holdings

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125029373754433433.html



I am being pitched every and whatever angle… hedge funds, brokers, vultures, you name it; God knows, none of them have a clue how dirty this turning will be.

additionally, in the recently released tables of 'insider trading', Bill Gates showed to have sold off around 170 million USD worth of MSFT shares. Seems like at least he does not have much faith in the sustainability of current equity prices

[flintlock]

Re: WSJ: Gates Foundation Sells Off Most Health-Care, Pharmaceutical Holdings

Well it makes perfect sense does it not? The future of that industry has become too unpredictable.

[FrankL]

Re: WSJ: Gates Foundation Sells Off Most Health-Care, Pharmaceutical Holdings

additionally, in the recently released tables of 'insider trading', Bill Gates showed to have sold off around 170 billion USD worth of MSFT shares. Seems like at least he does not have much faith in the sustainability of current equity prices

oh seems like he (Mr. Gates) sold off another 190 million USD worth of MSFT this week.

[Munger]

Re: WSJ: Gates Foundation Sells Off Most Health-Care, Pharmaceutical Holdings

oh seems like he (Mr. Gates) sold off another 190 billion USD worth of MSFT this week.

Where are you coming up with these numbers? Given that the total market cap of MSFT is about $200 Billion, I find it hard to believe Mr. Gates sold $360 Billion worth of shares.

[thedanimal]

Re: WSJ: Gates Foundation Sells Off Most Health-Care, Pharmaceutical Holdings

I think those should be millions, not billions.

[WildspitzE]

Re: WSJ: Gates Foundation Sells Off Most Health-Care, Pharmaceutical Holdings

It has to be million, click on the link he provided from zerohedge (I didn't bother to do the sum, but the figures are in actual numbers, not thousands).

[FrankL]

Re: WSJ: Gates Foundation Sells Off Most Health-Care, Pharmaceutical Holdings

Where are you coming up with these numbers? Given that the total market cap of MSFT is about $200 Billion, I find it hard to believe Mr. Gates sold $360 Billion worth of shares.

brainfart. Should indeed be million where I said billion. The height of the stimuli and treasury debt sales have messed up my thinking

[Slimprofits]

Re: WSJ: Gates Foundation Sells Off Most Health-Care, Pharmaceutical Holdings

I heard the CNBC mid-day talking heads discussing this for five minutes last Friday when it was first announced. The idea they were selling to viewers is that the signal is bullish because the Gates' are bad investors.