Bill Gates, who's 'not a big beer drinker,' just bought a $902 million stake in Heineken
- Bill Gates bought a $902 million stake in Dutch brewery Heineken's parent company.
- Gates said he's "not a big beer drinker" on an "Ask Me Anything" thread on Reddit in 2018.
Despite previously saying he's "not a big beer drinker," Bill Gates bought a $902 million stake in Dutch brewery Heineken.
The billionaire acquired a 3.76% stake in Heineken Holding NV, Heineken's parent company, on February 17, according to a filing with the Netherlands' Financial Markets Authority. He bought 6.65 million shares of the beer company directly, per the filing, and another 4.18 million shares through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Trust.
The value of Gates's overall stake was worth around 848 million euros, or about $901.6 million, as of market close on Friday, the day of the transaction.
The Microsoft cofounder has previously said he's not that into beer.
On an "Ask Me Anything" thread on Reddit in 2018, Gates was asked what his favorite beer is.
"I am not a big beer drinker," Gates wrote in response to the question, adding that if he goes to baseball games, for example, he'll "drink light beer to get with the vibe of all the other beer drinkers."
Last July, a study was published about the health risks of alcohol consumption that received funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which the billionaire and his ex-wife, Melinda French Gates, started decades ago. The study found that "stronger interventions" are needed, specifically for younger people, "to reduce the substantial global health loss attributable to alcohol."
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
But the Microsoft cofounder has invested in a beer company before.
Long before his Reddit post and the health study, Gates bought a $392 million stake in one of Mexico's largest brewers, Femsa, in 2007. Femsa, which is the largest bottler of Coca Cola, sold its brewery to Heineken in 2010, and is now divesting from Heineken, the company said in a press release.