We recently compiled a list of the 10 Best Stocks to Buy According to Bill Gates. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) stands against the other stocks.
Bill Gates is one of the most influential figures in the modern world. The software company he co-founded, best known for its Windows operating system, ranks among the most valuable companies globally, boasting a market capitalization of $3 trillion. This success has contributed to Gates becoming one of the wealthiest individuals, with his net worth recently estimated at $108 billion.
In 2000, Bill and Melinda Gates established the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, now one of the world’s largest charitable organizations. The foundation focuses on public health, poverty reduction, education, and climate change. Since 1994, the Gateses have contributed over $50 billion to its initiatives, including more than $1.94 billion in grants for vaccine research during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to a report by Business Insider, Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates, and Warren Buffett have collectively contributed around $100 billion to the Gates Foundation to date. During an interview with the BBC, the Microsoft co-founder and Gates Foundation chair disclosed the extent of his philanthropic efforts. According to a foundation fact sheet, Gates and French Gates, who are now divorced, donated a total of $59.5 billion between the organization’s inception in 2000 and the end of 2023. Meanwhile, Buffett, the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, has contributed an additional $39.3 billion.
The foundation has been a major financial backer of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for malaria and tuberculosis vaccine research. It also played a pivotal role in launching Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which spearheads immunization efforts in low-income nations. Headquartered in Seattle, the foundation continues to expand its global impact. Following a $20 billion donation, Gates outlined plans to boost its annual spending by 50%, targeting $9 billion by 2026.
Bill Gates has dedicated years and billions of dollars to addressing climate change. His foundation has directed substantial funding toward climate technology solutions while consistently highlighting major sources of greenhouse gas emissions, particularly those from large energy and manufacturing companies that burn fossil fuels extensively. However, Gates believes that many people overlook one of the significant contributors to climate change: agriculture, particularly methane emissions from livestock and the impact of fertilizers.
Since 2015, Breakthrough Energy, the climate-focused investment firm he founded, has allocated $2.2 billion to more than 160 startups and initiatives, aiming to generate investor returns while reducing emissions. In addition to these investments through the firm, Gates has also pursued climate-focused ventures independently. Some of these startups focus on practical solutions, such as sealants to improve heating efficiency, while others explore more unconventional approaches, including burying plant waste to capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
As of Q4 2024, The Gates Foundation, managed by Michael Larson, has a portfolio valued at over $42 billion. The tech and industrial goods sectors represented 29% and 26.3% of the portfolio, respectively. The finance sector made up over 21% of the fund’s portfolio. In view of this, we will take a look at the best stocks to buy according to Bill Gates.
Our Methodology
To make our list of the latest stocks in Bill Gates’ portfolio, we scanned through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s SEC filings for the fourth quarter and picked out the top ten stocks with the highest investment stakes.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
A technician wearing a protective suit in a water treatment plant.
Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)
Stake Value as of Q4 2024: $1,222,692,070
Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) is a global leader in water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions and services. The company’s 48,000 associates support millions of customers in more than 170 countries around the world.
Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) posted strong results in Q4 2025 with sales of $4 billion, up 1.7% YoY and beating market expectations by almost $19.5 million. The company topped estimates with an adjusted EPS of $1.81, led by robust organic growth and improved margins. Ecolab’s largest Global Industrial segment, which provides water treatment and cleaning products and services to large industrial customers, saw a 10.8% rise in operating income to $374.6 million. The company generated a record free cash flow of $1.8 billion in FY 2024 and its balance sheet was further bolstered by the divestment of its global surgical solutions business in a deal worth $950 million. Ecolab repurchased $1 billion worth of shares in 2024 and declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.65 this month.
The phenomenal rise of AI technologies is prompting data centers to rethink their cooling strategies, leading to a shift from air-cooled to liquid-cooled servers, creating a significant opportunity for Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL). The company’s global high-tech business operates in the data center and microelectronics industries, with sales reaching over $300 million and much room for growth in the coming years.
Overall ECL ranks 7th on our list of the best stocks to buy according to Bill Gates. While we acknowledge the potential for ECL as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than ECL but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.