The divorce and recent revelations about Cascades workplace culture, reported by the New York Times, raise questions about whats next for Larson and the fortune he oversees. Cascade Investment Email Format. He was accused by multiple former employees of creating "a culture of fear" at the Gates family office,. At the center of both the Gates fortune and the Gates Foundation endowment is a little-known entity called Cascade Investment. Being the investment chief for one of the worlds biggest family fortunes might seem like an enviable job for an investor mulling creative bets. It does not handle logistics, payroll or expenses for the foundation and is purely an asset management firm that invests Gatess personal wealth. New York: For almost three decades, Michael Larson has quietly shuffled around one of the worlds biggest fortunes with a chief priority: Keep his fabulously wealthy bosses out of the headlines. Michael Larson is one of the most powerful men in US wealth management you have never heard of. Larson is the chief investment officer of Gates's family office, Cascade Investments. After two years, he struck out on his own. Mr. Larson has invested the Microsoft co-founder's money in farmland, hotels, stocks, bonds, even a bowling alley. It holds around a 4 per cent stake in Warren Buffetts Berkshire Hathaway investment group, owns 47 per cent of the Four Seasons hotel company and about 6 per cent of Bunzl, the distribution and outsourcing group. Cascade Investment paid settlements to at least seven people who . Cascade is the personal investment entity of William H. Gates III, the sole member of Cascade. That reflects the typical investment approaches of big family offices and foundations, said Raphael Amit, professor of management at the University of Pennsylvanias Wharton School. San Francisco Bay Area, Silicon Valley), Total number of current Jobs the person has, CB Rank (Hub): Algorithmic rank assigned to the top 100,000 most active Hubs, Number of news articles that reference the Person. I thought it was the old FBI trick, chuckles Larson, you know, ask for 13 and randomly pick three. He assumed the role in 1994. The portfolio is pretty conservatively positioned right now for a couple of reasons, says Larson. Ltd. All rights reserved. They talked about AlbuquerqueMicrosofts hometown in the early daysabout risk management, and about investing, of course. Younger family members tend to, at a higher rate than before, focus on pursuing philanthropy earlier and on integrating philanthropy into a familys investment activities, he says. In addition, as a professional investor and as the investment officer of the Companys largest shareholder, Mr. Larson brings a long-term shareholder perspective to the Board. He assumed the role in 1994. In 1994, Larson and his wife moved to Seattle. About half of it$750 millionis in what Larson calls private equity; thats buyout funds and direct investments, such as Gates stake in Teledesic, McCaws satellite company (Larson is on its board). Cascades assets have periodically been boosted by proceeds from the sales of Gatess Microsoft stock. Found email list ings include: @cascademgt.com. Ecolab respects your privacy and security, so weve updated our Privacy Policy to comply with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) effective May 25, 2018. The Learning Foundation is the simplest. , For instance, if and when the air comes out of tech stocks, food and oil stocks could hold up real well. What they signal is that family wealth investment management is big business. French Gates, whose name was added to BMGI in 2014, has been in focus after Cascade transferred equity stakes worth more than $3 billion to her, leading some in the industry to speculate shes in the process of claiming an even larger control of her share of the riches. Although an actual statement isn't released, it's believed that Larson manages well over $80 billion year to date.[when? Despite his high-profile job, he works hard and successfully to stay out of the public eye Cascade declined to speak for the purposes of this article. Berkshire isnt. What about the other 30%, or $1.5 billion? I wish everyone understood that.- Bloomberg, Also read: Microsoft names Satya Nadella chairman, rewards him for turning around tech giant, Subscribe to our channels on YouTube & Telegram. The couples divorce announcement last month cracked the curated image. As for the actual content of Gates $5 billion portfolio (drum roll, please), it turns out to be not that exciting. Other directorships held during the past five years Director of AutoNation, Inc., Republic Services, Inc., Grupo Televisa, S.A.B. Cascade has holdings in property and non-technology companies. He is the chief investment officer for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Bill Gates' personal fortune through Cascade Investment. The letter requested help from the Gateses in addressing the situation with Larson and threatened legal action if they didn't. Larson farms out some 15% of the overall portfolio to bond managers at Morgan Grenfell, PIMCO, Miller Anderson & Sherrerd, and Western Asset Management. [1] "Cascade Investment (Bill and Melinda Gates Investments (BMGI)) - Family Office, United States - SWFI", "Cascade Investment, Bill Gates' wealth manager", "A Culture of Fear at the Firm That Manages Bill Gates's Fortune", "Bill Gates uses farmland as an investment outlet buying up potato, carrot and onion farms", "Bill Gates Transferred Billions Of Dollars' Worth Of These Two Stocks To The Gates Foundation", "Bill Gates Sells $940 Million of CN Rail Stock, Trimming Stake to 9%", "Four Seasons Hotels agrees to bid from Gates and Alwaleed", "Bill Gates' stake in Ecolab could get bigger", "Canadian National Railway Company | SC 13G", "Could Bill Gates be the next owner of Strategic Hotels? In a Fortune story from two decades ago, Larson explained that much of his strategy boiled down to countering the swings of Microsoft stock. Bill Gates' money manager Michael Larson was accused of making racist, sexist remarks to employees, The New York Times reported. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. French Gates rarely attended meetings in Cascades early days aside from the annual in-person gathering, and when she did she tended to be a passive participant, according to one of the people familiar with the firm. Larson also holds Berkshire Hathawayhe owned 300 shares last year and recently bought a bunch morewhich he thinks became particularly attractive after its Gen Re acquisition. Sustaining this needs support from wonderful readers like you. Michael Larson, 61, the man in charge at Gates's money-management firm, Cascade Investment, is reported to have judged women on their attractiveness and made sexually and racially. ' . A spokesman for Cascade said BMGI is changing its name to allow for the evolving needs of the Gates family and their philanthropic work and that the groups investment strategy and organizational structure wont change. NOW WATCH: Bill Gates has a net worth of over $96 billion here's how he makes and spends his money, pursued female employees and been dismissive of French Gates, The Wall Street Journal profiled Larson in 2014, his $125 million estate in Washington, a luxury-car collection, and a private plane. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. Larson called the investment shop Cascade Investment because the generic name would allow him to operate in the market without drawing attention. The Wall Street Journal profiled Larson in 2014, summarizing his job as to "make Bill Gates richer.". Larson, 61, has admitted that he sometimes used harsh language, as alleged in the Times reporting, but denied that he mistreated staff. since 1994. Gates hired him almost 30 years ago, when the Microsoft cofounder's net worth was closer to $5 billion. Aside from detracting attention from the Gateses, Larsons main mandate has been to invest conservatively try to maximize returns but dont lose money, one of the people said. He started digital-image company Corbis Corp. in 1989. He told the guests who were asked to wear platinum or pink, Larson's favorite color that Larson had his "complete trust and faith," sources told the newspaper. Bill Gates' money manager, Michael Larson, has come under scrutiny as recent details have surfaced alleging inappropriate workplace behavior. OEM diesel and natural gas engine manufacturer. Many of them are business-owning families or those so-called financial families, who have sold operating businesses. The newspaper. The Times published a bombshell report Wednesday detailingLarson's alleged inappropriate workplace behavior at Cascade Investment, which manages Bill Gates' and Melinda French Gates' fortune. $10 billion is farmed out to around 25 other money managers, helping to hide the trail and generate other ideas. We use Following the divorce of Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates, their money manager has come under some serious scrutiny. Michael Larson has served as Bill Gates' money manager for decades. The New York Times reported on Sunday that Larson had become a point of contention between Gates and his wife, Melinda French Gates, after he was accused of sexual harassment in 2017. Across the world, Tillotson believes there are about 79,000 very rich individuals (those with personal wealth greater than $50m) who control roughly $19tn in assets. A Cascade representative has said the matters were examined and didnt warrant his dismissal. Amid controversy, Bill Gates' money manager Michael Larson could be safeguarding a hefty net worth. In addition, Mr. Larson serves as director to a number of closed end funds and mutual funds within the Western Asset Management fund complex. The holdings havent uniformly jived with the Gateses charitable endeavors or priorities, which include global health and, more recently, climate change. If you think about it, 90%-plus of Bills wealth is in a single technology stock. She was unaware of most of the allegations involving Larson given her lack of ownership of and control over BMGI, her spokeswoman, Courtney Wade, said in a statement. Catherine Tillotson, managing partner of Scorpio Partnership, the consultancy, says: A tour around Londons elite wealth management boutiques reveals the growing popularity of the term private investment office. [1] Larson subsequently earned an MBA from the University of Chicago at the age of 21. In February of that year, Gates held a celebration at his mansion near Seattle in honor of Larson, who at that point had been working for Gates for 20 years. Biography Chief investment officer to William H. Gates III. Sophie Alexander , Anders Melin and Tom Maloney 22 June, 2021 09:09 am IST de C.V. Actually, when I heard it was Bill, I wasnt sure I wanted the job, says Larson. No credit card required. The Times report also described sources as saying Gates had pursued female employees and been dismissive of French Gates in work meetings at Microsoft. A trusted partner for millions of customers, Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) is a global sustainability leader offering water, hygiene and infection prevention solutions and services that protect people and the resources vital to life. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Another reason bonds are attractive to Larson is that as new money streams in, scaling up in the fixed-income markets is much easier than in stocks. Source: getty. Find unique places to stay with local hosts in 191 countries. [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. ("Cascade"), of which I am the General Counsel. Cascade also owns around 270,000 acres of land, enough to make it the single biggest owner of U.S. farmland, according to the Land Report. The arrangement is simple: Mr. Larson makes money, and Mr. Gates gives it away. Wall Street Journal. Hes a long-term, buy-and-hold investor. is an American holding company and private investment firm headquartered in Kirkland, Washington, United States. Previously, Michael was a Manager, Investment at BMGi. It's unclear what percentage Larson gets out of managing a fortune worth more than $100 billion. Public Records. So he came out, and the two men hit it off. By providing your email address below, you are providing consent to Ecolab Inc. to send you the requested Investor Email Alert updates. Of the nonbond portion of Gates portfolio, another $250 million is in what Larson calls real stuff.. "There's a clear process for employees, contractors and partners to share concerns either anonymously or by name, and any issue raised over the company's history has been taken seriously and resolved appropriately," the spokesperson continued. Larson also has a significant amount of money in short positionsactually more than usual right nowwhich reflects his view that many stocks are fully, if not overly, valued. Some of Michael Larsons investments over the years: ValueWalk.com is a highly regarded, non-partisan site the website provides unique coverage on hedge funds, large asset managers, and value investing. Gates has spent much of his wealth on his charitable foundation, as well as on his $125 million estate in Washington, a luxury-car collection, and a private plane. Same platform but with new and improved features. Cascade has around 100 employees, who, when traveling on business, must stay at a low-cost hotel, not the Four Seasons, despite the fact that Cascade owns a large chunk of the hotel chain. Gates has occasionally made it clear that Larson has broad discretion to make investment decisions. Larson reportedly told a Black employee she lived 'in the ghetto. It declined to comment on its investment strategies but it is known to invest globally and across many asset classes. It so happens that one of Larsons interests is media stocks. Cascade Investment, L.L.C. Mr. Larson has been chief investment officer for Mr. Gates and the Business Manager of Cascade Investment, L.L.C. Michael Larson, head of Cascade Investment, shared nude photos of women online with co-workers, rated female employees' attractiveness, and made a racist comment to a Black employee, among. She also runs Pivotal Ventures, an investment and incubation firm founded in 2015 that focuses on gender and racial equality and employs roughly 90 people. Married with three children, Michael Larson prefers Levis jeans and dark pink shirts. [1] In 2021, Cascade drew attention due to allegations of toxic work environment caused by Larson. Based in Kirkland, Washington, Cascade shies away from media attention. Read our Cookies Policy to learn more. and Fomento Mexicano Economico, S.A.B. This change is not only happening among high-end investment firms; lawyers and accountants too are coining new phrases. He really doesnt need much, if any, equity exposure at all, says Larson. The foundation's future may or may not include Larson, depending on the outcome of the claims. Once loosely described as family offices or multi-family offices, this linguistic shift aims to put a finer point on their capabilities as independent advisers on family wealth.. [1] Early life and education Larson was born in Sacramento, California in October 1959. Gates money manager had to be smart, trustworthy and as clean as a whistle. ", "See how @DiageoGB scores on #water stewardship in face of #climatechange in new @Ceresnews analysis", "Bill Gates is $9.5 billion richer than he was a year ago, worth over $100 billion, but not just from Microsoft", "Cascade Investment Portfolio Holdings", "The Bill Gates-backed company that's reinventing meat", "Sears gets more time to repay lenders, including funds tied to CEO Edward Lampert and Bill Gates", "Bill Gates' Cascade Investment, GIC buy stakes in StorageMart", "GIP teams up with Blackstone and Cascade to buy Signature Aviation", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cascade_Investment&oldid=1132153932, Investment companies of the United States, Conglomerate companies of the United States, Financial services companies established in 1995, 1995 establishments in Washington (state), Privately held companies based in Washington (state), United States financial services company stubs, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. Smaller investments include stakes in nuclear-reactor developer TerraPower LLC and meat-substitute maker Beyond Meat. . ][citation needed] This number includes the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Gates's personal wealth. He is the chief investment officer for The Gates Foundation and Bill Gates' fortune, through the Cascade Investment fund. According to Cascade, this is a low ratio. 5 free lookups per month. One remarkable feature of the portfolio is how little it changes. Bill Gates' money manager Michael Larson was accused of making racist, sexist remarks to employees, The New York Times reported. Additionally, claims have come forth of sexist and racist comments that Larson made.
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