Cascade Investment

Cascade Investment, L.L.C. is an American holding company and private investment firm headquartered in Kirkland, Washington, United States. ^[2] It is controlled by Bill Gates, and managed by Michael Larson.^[3] More than half of Gates's fortune is held in assets outside his holding of Microsoft shares.^[4] Cascade is the successor company to Dominion Income Management, the former investment vehicle for Gates's holdings, which was managed by convicted felon Andrew Evans.^[5]

Cascade Investment, L.L.C.

Company type	Private
Industry	Investments Conglomerate
Founded	1995; 30 years ago (1995)
Founder	Michael Larson
Headquarters	Kirkland, Washington , United States
Key people	Bill Gates (Chairman) Michael Larson (CIO)
Total assets	US$70 billion (2021)
Owner	Bill Gates
Number of employees	100[1]
Subsidiaries	Front Range Investment Holdings LLC Cottonwood Management LLC Lakeland Sands Florida, LLC

Larson reportedly directs Cascade's investments through Bill and Melinda Gates Investments, a firm that also manages the portfolios of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and other connected entities.^[6] Larson accrued over the twenty years from 1995 an 11% compound annual return,^[6] and as of 2014 had 100 employees working under his direction.^[1] In 2021, Cascade drew attention due to allegations of toxic work environment caused by Larson.^[7]

With 269,000 acres of farmland (which has been historically countercyclical to the stock market) being held through a wide network of shell companies, Cascade Investment is the largest farmland owner in the United States.^[8]

Cascade has managed Gates' stake in Canadian National Railway since 2013.^[9] This constituted one of the investment firm's largest holdings.^[10] In 2022, the company sold $940 million worth of stocks, whittling Gates' stake down to 1.4 percent.^[9]

Notable investments

Company	Ticker	Sector	Ownership %
Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts	Private	Hospitality	71.25%[6][11]
Ecolab	NYSE: ECL	Conglomerate	25%[12]
Canadian National Railway	TSX: CNR NYSE: CNI	Rail transport	14.2%[13]
FEMSA	BMV: FEMSA NYSE: FMX	Beverage and Retail	[6]
Berkshire Hathaway	NYSE: BRK.A NYSE: BRK.B	Conglomerate	4%[6]
Strategic Hotels & Resorts	Private	Hospitality	9.8%[6][14]
Republic Services	NYSE: RSG	Waste management	34.1%[15]
Deere & Company	NYSE: DE	Agricultural, construction, forestry, outdoor power and turf maintenance equipment. OEM diesel and natural gas engine manufacturer.	10.06%[16]
Bunzl	LSE: BNZL	Distribution and Outsourcing	6%[6]
Carpetright	Private	Retail	3%[6]
Diageo	LSE: DGE NYSE: DEO	Beverages	1.56%[17]
AutoNation	NYSE: AN	Car dealership	14%[3][18][19]
Microsoft	Nasdaq: MSFT	Software and Hardware conglomerate	3.6%[3]
Beyond Meat	Nasdaq: BYND	Food	[3][20]
Ritz-Carlton in San Francisco	Private	Hospitality	[1]
TerraPower	Private	Nuclear power	[3]
Transformco	Private	Retail and real estate	Debt interest[21]
Vroom	Nasdaq: VRM	Car dealership	[22]
StorageMart	Private	Self-storage	[23]
Signature Aviation	Private	Aviation Services	[24]