From GuruFocus:
Guru Holdings – Major Railroads: Burlington Northern Santa Fe, Union Pacific Corporation, Canadian National Railway, Norfolk Southern Corp....The following Gurus hold BNI
Recently, there has been a lot of interest in railroad stocks. Their barrier to entry is undeniable. In the 1800s, the government gave land to the railroads in order to link the country together. Today, this would be a near impossible action. It is nearly if not totally impossible for new competitors to enter the market place.
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp, Union Pacific Corp, Canadian National Railway and Norfolk Southern Corp will be reviewed.
Of interest is that 3 of the 4 stocks discussed here are holdings of Warren Buffett. It appears that he is collecting a basket of railroads....
George Soros owns 55,900 shares as of the quarter that ended on 06/30/2009, which is 0.16% of the $2.61 billion portfolio of Soros Fund Management LLC.
Ron Baron owns 59,000 shares as of the quarter that ended on 06/30/2009, which is 0.04% of the $11.99 billion portfolio of Baron Funds.
Kenneth Fisher owns 982,838 shares as of 06/30/2009, which accounts for 0.29% of the $24.67 billion portfolio of Fisher Asset Management, LLC.
Prem Watsa owns 2,088,000 shares as of 03/31/2009, which accounts for 2.9% of the $5.21 billion portfolio of Fairfax Financial Holdings, Inc.
Warren Buffett owns 76,777,029 shares as of 06/30/2009, which accounts for 11.53% of the $48.95 billion portfolio of Berkshire Hathaway.
Chris Davis owns 224,224 shares as of 06/30/2009, which accounts for 0.03% of the $51.82 billion portfolio of Davis Selected Advisers.
Tweedy Browne owns 1,334,954 shares as of 06/30/2009, which accounts for 5.82% of the $1.69 billion portfolio of Tweedy Browne CO LLC.
Prem Watsa owns 2,088,000 shares as of 06/30/2009, which accounts for 2.95% of the $5.21 billion portfolio of Fairfax Financial Holdings, Inc.
Wallace Weitz owns 204,900 shares as of 06/30/2009, which accounts for 0.98% of the $1.54 billion portfolio of Weitz Wallace R & Co.
PRIMECAP Management owns 100,000 shares as of 06/30/2009, which accounts for 0.02% of the $48.26 billion portfolio of PRIMECAP Management.
Jean-Marie Eveillard owns 15,000 shares as of 06/30/2009, which accounts for 0.01% of the $8.91 billion portfolio of Arnhold & S. Bleichroeder Advisers, LLC....MORE
The answer to our headline question is:
Bill Gates, Canadian National Railways (CNI)
Bill Gates owns 8,399,653 shares as of 06/30/2009, which accounts for 4.82% of the $7.49 billion portfolio of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust.
