Billionaire Bill Gates made a large purchase of Anheuser-Busch stock after the company suffered losses from Bud Light's transgender controversy.
The purchase was reported by TipRanks, a financial data firm.
TipRanks said Gates purchased about 1.7 million shares worth about $95 million through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust in the second quarter of the year. The foundation is estimated to hold assets worth about $69 billion.
Anheuser-Busch's troubles began in April when transgender TikTok influencer Dylan Mulvaney announced a partnership with Bud Light in a marketing campaign. Critics on the right immediately lambasted the beer and its parent company for the LGBTQ campaign, and many called for a boycott of all Anheuser-Busch beers.
The company's stock has fallen by about 10% over the last six months, which represents about $9 billion in stock valuation. Some analysts have said that the brand might recover, but others believe the decline is permanent.
Mulvaney has since criticized Bud Light for not standing up to the critics assailing the transgender influencer. Bud Light has lost its title as the best-selling beer in the U.S. to Modelo Especial while other beers competing with Anheuser-Busch — including Coors Light, Yuengling Lager, and Miller Lite — have gained market share.
Gates became a billionaire after founding the incredibly successful software company Microsoft. He is estimated to be worth over $110 billion.
His purchase of Anheuser-Busch stock signals a belief that the company will recover and increase in value.
Other investments he's made have alarmed some on the right, including his ownership of 242,000 acres of farmland. That figure constitutes far less than 1 percent of the total acres of farmland in the U.S., which is estimated at 897,400,000.
Here's more about the Bud Light trans controversy:
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