During the Dylan Mulvaney controversy, Bill Gates used about $95 million from his foundation to buy around 1.7 million shares of Anheuser-Busch, according to TipRanks latest data.
After Bud Light’s stock dipped about 7% for the year, the data showed the purchase as coming from his Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust only a few months ago.
After choosing the polarising and transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney to market their Bud Light brand on social media, Anheuser-Busch has struggled to regain its footing, with the move proving too much for its conservative base.
Bud Light has now lost its spot in the list of America’s top 10 most popular beers, according to a YouGov survey, and additionally, Anheuser-Busch’s share price dipped nearly 9% over the past six months.
Overall, the share price continues to slide due to a national boycott of Bud Light and is now down over 3%, to $56.08, with no slowing in sight.
The billionaire may not be “a big beer drinker”, his words, but he additionally bought around $1 billion of Heineken Holding shares, betting that they would rise to fill the Bud Light void after the current controversy occurred.
Taking the crown for U.S. sales in stores, Modelo Especial is outperforming Bud Light but only by a slight lead, with Modelo holding an 8.34% share of dollars paid on beer. Whereas Bud Light is holding at 8.28%, according to Bump Williams Consulting and NielsonIQ.
“More consumers are buying Modelo more frequently and in greater quantities before the summer ends,” the head of the consultancy said.
Clearly, Gates does not think Modelo has staying power in its top position.
Previously, Gates had also purchased shares from Mexico’s FEMSA, which he later sold to Heineken in 2010, bringing his recent investment in the Dutch beer company full circle.