Bill Gates Donates Millions in Stock to His Foundation

Bill Gates, founder and chairman of Microsoft Corp., donated $695-million worth of his shares in the company to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in November, which then sold the stock, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports.

Mr. Gates, who co-chairs the Gates foundation with his wife, Melinda, said Thursday that he held 8.9 percent of Microsoft, or 833.1 million shares, at the end of last year. According to a regulatory filing, his current stake in the company is worth $23.7-billion.

The stock shares are most likely part of the approximately $1.2-billion in 2007 the Gateses told The Chronicle they had paid to their foundation last year. The donation was the most recent payment toward the approximately $3.3-billion that Mr. and Ms. Gates pledged to the foundation in 2004.

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