Bill Gates built one of the country’s most closely watched investment portfolios through Cascade Investment LLC, the firm that manages his personal fortune and helps fund the Gates Foundation.
Most people picture Cascade Investment holding familiar names such as Deere and Ecolab. Those are both in the mix.
But one company sits far above everything else in the portfolio, and it is not a technology stock.
It is a waste-and-recycling company that most Americans interact with every week.
Why Bill Gates’ stock picks carry weight
Cascade Investment does not trade like a typical hedge fund. It tends to hold large, concentrated positions for years and rarely offloads these stakes in a hurry.
Cascade Investment also helps fund the Gates Foundation, one of the world’s largest philanthropic organizations.
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Growth inside Cascade’s holdings helps support the foundation’s global health and poverty work over time.
So when a single stock makes up more than half of Cascade’s entire portfolio, it tells you something about how much conviction is behind that bet.
How big is Bill Gates’ RSG stock stake?
Republic Services is the largest holding in Cascade’s portfolio. Cascade Investment holds 112.8 million shares of Republic Services (RSG) stock, worth roughly $25.16 billion, according to portfolio data TheStreet reviewed from Tikr.
- That single position accounts for 53.75% of Cascade’s entire portfolio, making it the firm’s largest holding by a wide margin.
- For comparison, Cascade’s second-largest position, Deere & Co, is worth about $9.2 billion and accounts for 19.66% of the portfolio.
- Ecolab, the third-largest holding, is valued at about $7.76 billion, or 16.58% of the portfolio.
The Republic Services stake also equals 36.84% of all RSG shares outstanding. In plain terms, Cascade Investment owns more than a third of the entire company.
Republic Services is one of the biggest environmental services companies in the United States and Canada. The company, incorporated in 1996, is based in Phoenix, Arizona.
Its business covers collecting and processing recyclable, solid, and industrial waste. It also handles transportation and disposal of hazardous and nonhazardous waste, along with landfill services and recycling centers.
Republic Services works with small containers, large containers, and residential customers, supplying containers, compactors, and curbside pickup, the company says.
RSG stock earnings show steady growth
The business behind Bill Gates’ biggest stock pick has been delivering solid results lately.
Republic Services reported second-quarter 2026 revenue growth of 4.6% and adjusted EBITDA growth of 4.5%, with an adjusted EBITDA margin of 32.1%, CEO Jon Vander Ark said on the company’s Aug. 6, 2026, earnings call.
Adjusted earnings per share came in at $1.85 for the quarter, and the company generated $1.58 billion in adjusted free cash flow through the first half of the year.
Customer retention stayed above 94%, and pricing gains continued to outpace cost inflation across the business, said CFO Brian DelGhiaccio.
“Our second quarter results reflect the strength and resilience of our business model, as we continue to execute our strategy and deliver differentiated value for our customers,” Vander Ark stated.
Following those results, Republic Services raised its full-year 2026 guidance.
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The company now expects revenue between $17.2 billion and $17.3 billion, adjusted EBITDA between $5.525 billion and $5.55 billion, and adjusted earnings per share between $7.23 and $7.28.
Republic Services also returned more than $1 billion to shareholders in the first half of the year through dividends and share buybacks, and recently raised its dividend for the 23rd consecutive year.
The company invested $860 million in acquisitions through midyear and expects to spend more than $1.2 billion on deals by the end of 2026.
Total debt stood at $14.2 billion at quarter-end, with total liquidity of $2.8 billion and a leverage ratio near 2.6 times, DelGhiaccio said.
Republic Services is part of a recession-resistant sector and should generate stable cash flows across business cycles.
Bill Gates built his fortune on software, but a huge share of his wealth today runs through trash trucks, landfills, and recycling centers instead.
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