Bill Gates does not own Berkshire Hathaway, although he maintains a historically close association with the conglomerate through his long-standing friendship with its legendary leader, Warren Buffett, and his previous tenure serving on its board of directors. Berkshire Hathaway is a publicly traded multinational holding company owned by a vast multitude of institutional shareholders, pension funds, and individual investors who hold its Class A and Class B common stock. While Bill Gates previously held massive blocks of Berkshire stock—largely transferred to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for philanthropic endowment purposes—the foundation periodically liquidates shares for charitable grants, meaning neither Bill Gates nor any single entity holds majority ownership of the company.