| Bill Gates Selling Millions of Microsoft Shares
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engine
msg:4264814 | 7:24 pm on Feb 9, 2011 (gmt 0) |
Bill Gates Selling Millions of Microsoft Shares [informationweek.com] Microsoft chairman Bill Gates is continuing to sell shares in the company at a rate that might set off alarm bells for some investors. Regulatory documents filed Monday show that Gates sold 5 million shares on Feb. 3, and documents filed last Friday reveal that he sold an additional 5 million on Feb. 2.
The moves follow a year in which Gates aggressively pared back his Microsoft holdings. SEC records reviewed by InformationWeek show that, in the past 12 months, Gates has sold off a whopping 90 million shares—reducing his holdings of Microsoft common stock by 13%. Over the past two years, Gates has cut his interest in the company he co-founded by about 22% through more than a dozen separate transactions.
Gates now holds roughly 591 million Microsoft shares, or about 7% of the 8.4 billion shares outstanding, and remains its largest single stockholder.
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Fotiman
msg:4264817 | 7:33 pm on Feb 9, 2011 (gmt 0) |
Can't say I blame him. Philanthropy is expensive and needs to be paid for somehow. I don't really find it very unusual that someone would cash out, especially with so many shares remaining.
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StoutFiles
msg:4264824 | 7:55 pm on Feb 9, 2011 (gmt 0) |
It'd only look bad is if he was taking all that money and investing it into competing tech companies. Otherwise he might just want to keep funding his causes.
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engine
msg:4265557 | 10:42 am on Feb 11, 2011 (gmt 0) |
I think that the investors and press just like to read other things into it.
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brotherhood of LAN
msg:4265569 | 11:33 am on Feb 11, 2011 (gmt 0) |
They wouldn't be worth anything to him if he couldn't sell them.
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