[News] Bill Gates Has Dumped $3,639,031,883 of Microsoft Shares
Roy Schestowitz
not familiar with US law in regards to information that although public
accessible, could be considered a breech of privacy. Perhaps UK law is more
kind. I don't know.
Out of curiosity, I took the Yahoo stock link that John Bailo posted a few
messages back, then clicked on Gate's name. It gave link:
http://biz.yahoo.com/t/38/567.html
This is two years worth of transactions by Mr. Gates. One is a Statement of
Ownership (11 May 2006). Rest are sales. I took the html table and dumped
it to a spreadsheet. After massaging, I came up with the following numbers:
For sale transactions from 04 May 2005 to 22 Feb 2007, 136,003,100 shares
were sold at an approximate value of $3,639,031,883 USD or
£1,857,580,215 GBP or
?2,756,603,042 EUR or
$4,249,261,139 CAD or
¥430,941,433,649 JPY.
Average price per share was $26.76 USD.
In essence according to Yahoo! Finance Edgar Online, sale was about $3.6
billion for 136 million shares. Declared holdings as of 22 Feb 07 are
922,499,336 Direct, 425,066 Indirect for a total of 922,924,402 shares."
Related:
,----[ Quote ]
| "There can be no more eloquent statement that Microsoft is growing
| irrelevant than Bill Gates' announcement on 15 June 2006 that he is
| stepping down from daily operations. Ray Ozzie has already taken over
| as Chief Software Architect.
|
| "One of the most eloquent dispositions on how badly things have gone
| wrong within Microsoft was by a Windows group insider (3). It
| describes the state of paralysis within the company caused by the
| horrifying complexity of monolithic integration, and persistent denial
| of reality by Microsoft's development management."
|
| "So what did Bill Gates see?"
`----
http://aaxnet.com/editor/edit040.html
Understanding Open Source technology
,----[ Quote ]
| Already industrial watchers are pointing to a serious showdown,
| which in the meantime, the Chief Executive of Microsoft Corporation,
| Steve Ballmer did not rule out in a recent interview in which he
| also explained why Microsoft announced a sweeping reorganisation
| of its Windows division.
|
| "We have to outrun this phenomenon [OSS]" he was quoted as saying, and "
| ...if we let up for a minute... then that other stuff will gain"
| attraction.
`----
Niall Sez Microsoft is Too Big and Paralyzed
,----[ Quote ]
| Lots of echoes in the chamber rolled up at TechMeme. Rumblings of
| cut-backs and paralysis and Microsoft being the new IBM. I certainlya
| gree with the desire for Microsoft to be a way smaller company (thoughI
| think every time I say that, or ring a bell, 100 more people get hired).
| I'm not bought into the split-up, except for the sobering benefit of
| cutting off the cash-cow money flow that allows an abundance of waste
| and bad decisions elsewhere in the company.
`----
Allchin's 'Buy a Mac' E-Mail Exposed
,----[ Quote ]
| "I must tell you everything in my soul tells me that we should do
| what I called plan (b) yesterday. We need a simple fast storage
| system. LH [Longhorn] is a pig and I don't see any solution to this
| problem. If we are to rise to the challenge of Linux and Apple, we
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
| need to start taking the lessons of 'scenario, simple, fast' to
| heart. Jim"
`----
http://www.microsoft-watch.com/content/operating_systems/allchins_buy_a_mac_email_exposed.html?kc=MWRSS02129TX1K0000535
http://tinyurl.com/y5cuu6
,----[ Quote ]
| "Up to 60% of the code in the new consumer version of Microsoft new Vista
| operating system is set to be rewritten as the Company 'scrambles' to fix
| internal problems a Microsoft insider has confirmed to SHN... Microsoft has
| also admitted that it has major problems in it's Windows division and has
| has immediately initiated a total restructure of the division..."
`----
http://www.smarthouse.com.au/Computing/Platforms?Article=/Computing/Platforms/R7G5G6U4
A Dozen Stocks For '07
,----[ Quote ]
| Millen also thinks $36 billion in planned share buybacks
| will help the stock.
`----
http://www.forbes.com/2006/12/05/stocks-markets-investing-pf-ii-cz_ag_1205stockpicks.html?partner=yahootix
http://tinyurl.com/yjzfbo
Microsoft's past stock options practice poses questions
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft in 1999 announced that it would end a policy of awarding
| options at monthly lows and said it would take a $217 million charge,
| though many details of that discontinued practice haven't been widely
| known, The Wall Street Journal said Friday.
|
| Those details raise questions about how Microsoft began the practice,
| what prompted the company to end it and whether the way the options
| were dated--at 30-day lows the month after they were
| granted--influenced other companies, it said.
`----
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-3513_22-6084617.html
Commentary: Microsoft needs more than just buybacks to lift its shares
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft shares, which have been dormant for the last few years,
| have been looking up over the last couple months. The Dow industrials
| component has gained about 20% since hitting a 4-year low of $21.46 o
| June 13.
|
| To help move things along, Microsoft not only launched a $40 billion
| stock repurchase program that lasts through 2011, the company also said
| its previously announced 4-year, $30 billion stock buyback program was
| completed in just 2 years.
`----
Ego-crazed Scoble burns MS bridges
,----[ Quote ]
| The post here entitled "Why Wall Street didn't believe Steve Ballmer
| (and what he can do about it)" hit new heights of self-aggrandising
| and must have made grisly reading for Microsoft's PR.
`----
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=32466
Microsoft counts on Vista to recharge stagnant stock
,----[ Quote ]
| There was a time in the 1990s when shares of Microsoft stock seemed to
| double every couple of years. 1996: college for the kids. 1998: a place
| on Whidbey. 1999: early retirement.
|
| Times have changed.
`----
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003437957_vista19.html
Ballmer delivers sobering message at Microsoft event
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft Corp. Chief Executive Steve Ballmer tempered the
| expectations of analysts at an event Thursday, telling them
| their predictions for sales of the company's new operating
| system are too high, while those for its operating expenses
| may be too low.
`----
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/ballmer-delivers-sobering-message-microsoft/story.aspx?guid=%7BCFADFB4D%2D7D86%2D4A0A%2DA233%2D1D18F48F82F7%7D&siteid=yhoo&dist=yhoo
http://tinyurl.com/2juebs
Microsoft profit on slide
,----[ Quote ]
| Some analysts are looking for any signs of improvement from
| Microsoft's internet division, which continues to lose market
| share in web search to Google.
|
| Microsoft's online services group saw revenue fall for the last
| four quarters and posted a loss in the past three quarters while
| it shifted to a new internet advertising platform and overhauled
| the company's web properties.
`----
http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,21109542%5E15306%5E%5Enbv%5E,00.html
Will Berkowitz keep Windows Live?
,----[ Quote ]
| At the risk of moving this article over to the opinion blog, many
| of the problems Berkowitz faces were caused not by too much focus
| on technical wizardry, but by a lack of clear direction, both fo
| MSN and for Windows Live.
`----
http://www.liveside.net/blogs/main/archive/2006/12/10/ny-times-will-berkowitz-keep-windows-live.aspx
Sources: Several Windows Live Projects Halted
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft's Windows Live desktop search project has been
| shelved "indefinitely," although not much reasoning has been
| given as to the reason for its demise.
`----
http://www.betanews.com/article/Sources_Several_Windows_Live_Projects_Halted/1163715423
Ozzie: Vista, Office must adapt to Web era
,----[ Quote ]
| Ozzie said that the transition to integrate online services into Microsoft
| products has been a challenge but that changes within the company are
| happening.
`----
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6133895.html
Will Web 2.0 ultimately kill Windows?
,----[ Quote ]
| Allchin shared his thoughts on Windows Live (which, along with Windows and
| developer tools also falls under his organization); competition with Google
| and Apple; and why a client-based version of Windows won?t ever completely
| disappear, regardless of how successful Web services become.
`----
http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=66
MSN Still Going Nowhere Fast
,----[ Quote ]
| It is worth noting that Microsoft still hasn't made any headway
| in the search-and-portal game and, in fact, is falling farther andf
| arther behind. As a result, it is not surprising that Steve Ballmer
| is now warning media companies that Google is the Evil Empire --
| because no other competitive tactic has worked.
`----
http://biz.yahoo.com/seekingalpha/061116/20767_id.html?.v=1
Can Google trump Microsoft?
,----[ Quote ]
| Google's "frontal assault" to Microsoft Office is Google Apps
| Enterprise Edition and Google is indeed waging warfare against Microsoft.
`----
http://blogs.zdnet.com/micro-markets/index.php?p=697
November 25 - Microsoft Dies
,----[ Quote ]
| This is the day. The demise of Microsoft. The day of reckoning has
| come at last. Friday 23rd November 2006. Google had seen it's profits
| soar massively. Microsoft on the other hand have had an awful year.
| Low profits, internal scandals, a lowered reputation and a lowered
| customer satisfaction rate have left the company in tatters.
`----
http://globa-tech.blogspot.com/2006/11/november-25-microsoft-dies.html
Desperate Acts (of Microsoft)
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft is expected to spend $650 million next year to let the world
| know it has a shiny new search service and Web advertising network.
| That money is more than double the amount Microsoft will spend rolling
| out Vista, the new operating system that will contribute vastly more to
| its revenues.
|
| Microsoft's two-year catch-up effort in search has yielded only
| middling results. This year it dropped from 11% to 9% of all searches.
| Google handled 61% of the 204 billion searches worldwide in the past1
| 2 months.
|
| "We're late to the game. We admit it," confesses a full-page Microsoft
| ad in national papers, begging the world to try out its new Live
| search service. You almost want to hand Chief Executive Steven Ballmer
| a cup of cocoa.
|
| [...]
|
| Think of this fight as determining a few decabillion dollars of market
| value circa 2010. The current figures are $147 billion for Google and $284
| billion for Microsoft.
`----
http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2006/1127/044a_print.html
Google, Ask Gain Search Share; Yahoo, Microsoft Lose Ground
http://biz.yahoo.com/seekingalpha/061020/18896_id.html?.v=1
Google vs. Microsoft Market Cap Game
,----[ Quote ]
| Interesting seeing how Google's market capitalization has chased
| Microsoft's since Google's IPO. We have seemingly plateaued at a
| little under 60% for a year now, but any takers on bets with
| respect to how long that holds?
`----
http://paul.kedrosky.com/archives/2006/11/21/google_vs_micro.html
ComScore: Google Leads Again In Search
,----[ Quote ]
| Yahoo reversed a slide that lowered them to 28.1 percent in September.
| They gained slightly to 28.2 in October. Microsoft gave up 0.2 percent
| to decline to 11.7 percent, after falling 0.6 percent in September to
| 11.9.
`----
http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/topnews/wpn-60-20061120ComScoreGoogleLeadsAgainInSearch.html
peterwn
AFAIK, Microsoft has paid little in the way of dividends over the
years, so the only way to realize retained profits is to sell some
stock.
Rafael
<SNIP>
> For sale transactions from 04 May 2005 to 22 Feb 2007, 136,003,100 shares
> were sold at an approximate value of $3,639,031,883 USD or
> £1,857,580,215 GBP or
> ?2,756,603,042 EUR or
> $4,249,261,139 CAD or
> ¥430,941,433,649 JPY.
>
> Average price per share was $26.76 USD.
>
> In essence according to Yahoo! Finance Edgar Online, sale was about $3.6
> billion for 136 million shares. Declared holdings as of 22 Feb 07 are
> 922,499,336 Direct, 425,066 Indirect for a total of 922,924,402 shares."
<SNIP>
136,003,100 / (136,003,100 + 922,924,402) = 12.8% or about 1/8th
was sold.
Estimated worth:
922,924,402 x $26.76 = $24,697,456,998, say $25 billion US.
No, he isn't selling out like some think.
--
Cheers, Rafael
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/linux/advocacy/faq-and-primer/
http://www.hyphenologist.co.uk/killfile/anti_troll_faq.htm
John Bailo
A stock which is 50% of its ten year high and falling....
John Locke
>
>922,924,402 x $26.76 = $24,697,456,998, say $25 billion US.
>
>No, he isn't selling out like some think.
If Microsoft keeps up its current policy of:
"the customer will get what we give them and be happy"
then we might have the penny stock disaster:
922,924,402 x $0.05 = $ 46,146,220
Rafael
Most certainly, a 23 million quid cheque will not send him into the poor
house. It could make for a new Monty Python episode, though. :-)
Roy Schestowitz
> John Locke wrote:
>>> Estimated worth:
>>>
>>> 922,924,402 x $26.76 = $24,697,456,998, say $25 billion US.
>>>
>>> No, he isn't selling out like some think.
>>
>> If Microsoft keeps up its current policy of:
>> "the customer will get what we give them and be happy"
>> then we might have the penny stock disaster:
>>
>> 922,924,402 x $0.05 = $ 46,146,220
>
> Most certainly, a 23 million quid cheque will not send him into the poor
> house. It could make for a new Monty Python episode, though. :-)
Rest assured he invests that money elsewhere. Indirectly, this could even
assist the company which he co-founded.
Gates Foundation's 'dirty secret'
,----[ Quote ]
| Mr Gates personal ideological view is that knowledge should be treated
| as property, and that the owners should always seek monopoly-rents
| (royalties) and he's said to direct the Gates foundation to mirror
| this ideology, harming the very people he is trying to help.
|
| [...]
|
| In my ideal world, we could turn Gates ideology into honest
| philanthropy, but I'm skeptical that a man who became the richest
| man on the planet via societal misinformation around the nature of
| knowledge is going to turn around any time soon.
`----
Politics and tech companies: follow the money
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft took first place with $651,100 given out, while
| Hewlett-Packard gave only $185,550, and Gateway gave a paltry
| $2,000. Microsoft's donations certainly illustrate well the true
| size of the company and the extent of its political concerns.
|
| [...]
|
| For instance, Microsoft's PAC spent $1.7 million in the 2006 election
| cycle, but only a third of this went to federal candidates. What
| happened to the rest? It went to local campaigns, paid out a few
| thousand dollars at a time to groups like "Boal for Iowa House" in
| Ankeny, IA. It also funded other PACs like the "Associated Republicans
| of Texas" and the "Blue Dog Political Action Committee." No race is
| apparently too small to be funded; even Indiana State Representative
| Terri Austin of Anderson, IN got $500.
| Lobbyists
|
| But the real money isn't even given to the candidates directly. It
| goes to lobbyists, which can be safer investments since they stand no
| chance of losing at the polls. The complete-year figures from 2005
| show that Microsoft spent $8.7 million on lobbyist expenses. Almost
| a million dollars of that money went to Covington & Burling, a
| lobbying firm that also represents the National Football League and
| the Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America. Microsoft's
| total spending on lobbying has risen substantially from the $4
| million it spent in 1998.
|
| [...]
|
| Where does it come from?
|
| Although some of this money comes from large employee donations,
| most of it does not. Take Microsoft, for instance; the Center for
| Responsive Politics says that the company received only $302,599
| from individual donors who gave more than $200 in this election
| cycle, only a small fraction of the $1.7 million actually spent.
| As is typical, much of this money came from the company's top
| brass, while the rest was made up of small contributions.
|
| The maximum individual contribution to a PAC is $5,000 a year.
| Melinda, whose occupation is listed in Federal Election Commission
| records as "homemaker," regularly contributes this amount, as does
| Bill. Steve Ballmer coughed up, too. Microsoft can use general
| company funds to support the PAC and its operations, but cannot
| give directly to candidates.
`----
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20061110-8194.html
Gates sold 100,000 Univision shares-SEC filing
,----[ Quote ]
| The foundation said it sold its remaining stake in Univision,
| which is in the process of being acquired by private investors,
| for an average of $35.34 per share in open market transactions.
`----
http://yahoo.reuters.com/news/articlehybrid.aspx?storyID=urn:newsmlreuters.com:20070105:MTFH49951_2007-01-05_22-11-13_N05298823&type=comktNews&rpc=44
http://tinyurl.com/yll88p
Bill Gates lends cash to buy newspapers
$350 million to MediaNews
,----[ Quote ]
| Gates involvement has been very behind the scenes. In fact many of
| those involved in the deal didn'teven know he was one of the investors.
| It was carried out through the Gates Foundation, the world's largest
| philanthropy outfit.
`----
http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=33849
--
~~ Best wishes
http://youtube.com/watch?v=bYsxaMyFV2Y http://youtube.com/watch?v=QNb7gPA1JFk
http://Schestowitz.com | RHAT GNU/Linux Ś PGP-Key: 0x74572E8E
run-level 5 Jan 23 00:41 last=S
http://iuron.com - help build a non-profit search engine
flyer
wrote:
Alot of people ignore that 50% drop and focus on shorter periods. With
Linux biting their legs off, the shares will probably never recover.
Finally some good news.