Gates foundation adds to its Coke stock

Bill Gates appears to be following the lead of friend and fellow billionaire Warren Buffett with his penchant for Coca-Cola stock.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust, which provides money for a charity co-chaired by the Microsoft founder and his wife, has increased its stake in the Coca-Cola system, according to a filing Tuesday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

In the final quarter of 2008, the trust added 3 million shares of Coca-Cola Co. stock to bring its total to 5.68 million shares. Coca-Cola, based in Atlanta, is the world’s largest beverage firm.

The trust also bought 1 million shares of Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Enterprises, Coke’s largest bottler, as a new investment. It already owned 4.56 million shares of Coca-Cola FEMSA, a Coke bottler based in Mexico.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust now has more than $400 million invested in Coke and the bottlers.

Berkshire Hathaway, led by Buffett, is the largest shareholder of Coca-Cola stock, owning 200 million shares, or about 8.6 percent of outstanding stock.