Bill Gates top CN shareholder

[Anonymous]

Gates puts CN in his toy chest
(The following article by Brent Jang was posted on the Globe and Mail website on April 3.)

TORONTO -- Already the world's richest man, Bill Gates has chugged his way to the top of another list as the largest shareholder in Canadian National Railway Co.

In a recent filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Microsoft Corp. chairman and founder disclosed that he holds nearly 30.91 million CN shares through Cascade Investment LLC, or a 5.8-per-cent stake now worth $1.63-billion.

That's enough to place Mr. Gates ahead of major institutional investors such as Fidelity Investments, Barclays PLC, Wellington Management Co., and the mutual fund arm of Bank of Montreal.

As well, in a $234-million joint holding with his wife, Melinda, the charitable Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation owns another 4.42 million shares in Canada's largest railway.
In total, the Gates family's 35.33 million CN shares are worth $1.87-billion, based on their closing price of $52.92 Friday on the Toronto Stock Exchange. That works out to 6.6 per cent of Montreal-based CN's market value of $28.37-billion.

Mr. Gates has slowly but steadily emerged as the railway's top shareholder by sticking with CN and adding to his portfolio while the leading institutional investors gradually trimmed their positions in recent years.

It's unclear when he began buying CN stock, but by the fall of 2000, through Cascade, he managed to accumulate 29.7 million shares (adjusted for subsequent stock splits), securities filings show.

Roger Cameron, a spokesman for the Railway Association of Canada, said Mr. Gates must have recognized early on that the railway sector has grown beyond its Old Economy roots to join the high-tech age.

"Many people don't fully appreciate the technology in the modern railroad," Mr. Cameron said. "About 40 per cent of the value of a modern locomotive is in the computer and information systems."

He noted that, over the past six years, Mr. Gates has seen gains from his CN interests, while the value of his Microsoft investment has plunged.

CN's share price has quadrupled during that time, while the software giant's stock has fallen by more than half from its peak. Despite the technology bubble bursting in 2000, Mr. Gates still owns 980 million Microsoft shares worth $26.7-billion (U.S.).

Mr. Gates has long sought to diversify his holdings by having Cascade invest in a variety of industries, mostly U.S. companies such as Cox Communications Inc., Republic Services Inc. and investment guru Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

Besides CN, Mr. Gates has a notable Canadian investment in Vancouver-based mining firm Pan American Silver Corp., with a 5-per-cent stake valued at $98-million (Canadian).

Last month, Mr. Gates continued to lead Forbes magazine's annual ranking of the world's richest people, with his net worth estimated at $50-billion (U.S.).

"All common shares held by Cascade Investments LLC may be deemed to be beneficially owned by William H. Gates III as the sole member of Cascade," according to the filing with the SEC. Cascade is based in Kirkland, Wash., near Microsoft's Redmond headquarters.

The filing said the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the world's wealthiest charitable trust, "may be deemed to be beneficially owned by William H. Gates III and Melinda French Gates as co-trustees."

The Seattle-based foundation's shareholding alone far exceeds stock held by CN president and chief executive officer Hunter Harrison, who recently owned 264,204 CN shares -- the most of anyone on the railway's board.

"It's our practice not to comment about individual shareholdings, but we feel that CN has been a successful investment for all of our shareholders," CN spokesman Mark Hallman said.

Taking stock splits (but not dividends) into account, an investor holding 100 CN shares worth $2,700 (Canadian) back in 1995 would currently have 600 shares worth $31,752.
CN's profit climbed 24 per cent to a record $1.56-billion last year.


From BLET Site

[germanium]

He's obviously been playing "Railroad Tycoon" !!!

[TomDiehl]

QUOTE: Originally posted by germanium

He's obviously been playing "Railroad Tycoon" !!!

But now he can do it for real. [:D]

[fuzzybroken]

*Groan* ...

[nanaimo73]

He's investing in the right railroad, 61% operating ratio and without the capacity constraints of the other majors.

If a CN employee had invested 5% of his salary in each of the last 10 years in CN stock, he'd be doing really well.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by germanium

He's obviously been playing "Railroad Tycoon" !!!

Gee, I would have thought he would be playing Microsoft Train Simulator [:D].

I can see the TRAINS News Wire headlines now.... "Microsoft offers Canadian National 2.0, the same great railroad you have come to know but with new features and fully integrated with the Microsoft Windows and Office platforms..."


*** CN 2.0 requires product activation ***

[blhanel]

So that's why there's been so many CN derailments lately- software bugs![:D]

[Randy Stahl]

At least the railroads have REAL assets , something lacking in most .com companys . It has been known for some time that Mr. Gates invested in the CN .

[Anonymous]

He also invested heavily in BN(SF) a few years ago. Wouldn't know if he moved out of that.

Maybe the worm is turning.

[greyhounds]

Oh, this has the potential to drive a couple of people on this board from Canada nuts

The ultimate Yankee Capitalist buying heavily into the Canadian NATIONAL railroad.

They'll probably think it calls for :

1) Greater Government Involvement and Powers.
2) Redistribution of Mr. Gates' wealth.
3) Greater Government Involvement and Powers.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by greyhounds

Oh, this has the potential to drive a couple of people on this board from Canada nuts

The ultimate Yankee Capitalist buying heavily into the Canadian NATIONAL railroad.

They'll probably think it calls for :

1) Greater Government Involvement and Powers.
2) Redistribution of Mr. Gates wealth.
3) Greater Government Involvement and Powers.

Yeah, poor ol' Click o' 1 is gonna suuure be unhappy...

FOFLMAO...

LC

[jeaton]

I was thinking about picking up a 5% chunk of CN myself, but getting a bidding war with Gates would just run the price up beyond any reasonable level. Wouldn't mind knowing what he is looking at for his next purchase. I'd buy the day before.

[CNW 6000]

QUOTE: Originally posted by drfizzix

Gee, I would have thought he would be playing Microsoft Train Simulator [:D].

That's worth a point!

So...is the new Windows stuck in a choked yard somewhere cuz of a singletracked main?

[zardoz]

...waiting for the antigates to chime in.....

[Murphy Siding]

QUOTE: Originally posted by zardoz

...waiting for the antigates to chime in.....

He said he was retired and living off his investments. Maybe he owns 5.8% of CN as well?[;)]

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by braund91

QUOTE: Originally posted by drfizzix

Gee, I would have thought he would be playing Microsoft Train Simulator [:D].

That's worth a point!

So...is the new Windows stuck in a choked yard somewhere cuz of a singletracked main?

That's exactly right [;)]

[Anonymous]

You are dead wrong. People and brainpower
are real assets, too.

Dave

QUOTE: Originally posted by Randy Stahl

At least the railroads have REAL assets , something lacking in most .com companys . It has been known for some time that Mr. Gates invested in the CN .

[MP173]

Greyhound:

Did you keep any IC stock? It has been quite a ride.

ed

[tatans]

Greyhound, Naw, no more Gov't. powers, we will just nationalize the railway, give Gates $10,000 for the railway and send him on his way across the soon to be largest defended border in the world. American acquisition of Canadian businesses? ? c'mon, we're used to it.

[trainboyH16-44]

We don't worry about the "Canadian National" railway....it's already got so much american in it that soon it will be making their crews call them "Freedom fries" and so on...

[Murphy Siding]

QUOTE: Originally posted by zardoz

...waiting for the antigates to chime in.....

Maybe AG really is Bill Gates?[:-,]

[Anonymous]

I seem to recall back when Ed Burkhardt(head of Wisconsin Central) was ousted, that Bill Gates was listed as owning about 3% of WC stock.

The rich get richer.......[:(!]

[MStLfan]

Oh, let him invest in railroads. He could do worse with all that money!
The only better way he could use that money would be on something with heavy taxes so we would get some of that money we had to put into his products back.
greetings,
Marc Immeker

[MP173]

A few years ago railroads were seen in the tech industry as being in play because of their right of ways.

Fiber optic lines could be easily buried and the rails would receive some sort of payment.

I wonder if Mr. Gates looked at it in that manner? Certainly his buddy Warren Buffet would not have influenced him to purchase rails, as Berkshire Hathaway has never owned railroads.

ed