Bill Gates invested $95 million in 1.7 million shares of Anheuser-Busch - the parent company of Bud Light - in the second quarter of this year, according to a report by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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Bud Light recently lost millions of dollars after consumers boycotted the brand for its marketing campaign with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
Bud Light sales dropped by 20.1% and it was no longer the country's best-selling beer (a position it held for more than 22 years). It was surpassed by Modelo, a Mexican beer, whose sales increased by 9.6%.
However, despite the fall in sales, Gates acquired the shares through his organization Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust. This investment shows that he is committed to helping the company recover financially.
Gates isn't "a big beer drinker," but he invests in breweries.
Bill Gates stated in the past that he is not "a big beer drinker." However, it is not the first time he has invested a large amount of money in a beer company. In February of this year, he invested $940 million (10.8 million shares) in Heineken NV, which coincidentally is one of Anheuser-Busch's main competitors.
Gates often uses the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust to make his multi-million dollar investments, many of which are in the food and beverage industries. These include Walmart (supermarkets), Ecolab (water cleaning systems) and Deer & Company (agricultural machinery).
Gates' green agenda has also led him to invest in companies dedicated to making plant-based foods. Gates invested, and lost money, in the plant-based meat company Beyond Meat. The company's net revenue fell by almost a third due to low sales.
