People really out here thinking Bill Gates himself is shorting $500 Million of Tesla in his Robinhood account.

Here is a breakdown on who actually placed this trade and why (if it was taken)👇🏼

Unlike the average retail trader/investor, Billionaires have their assets managed by wealth management and investment firms.

Bill Gates’ fortune is so vast that an investment firm was created just for him. This fund is larger than many large Hedge Funds combined.

Enter Cascade Investment, an LLC created in 1995 with the sole purpose of managing Bill Gates’ personal fortune and that of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. As of last year it had over $70 Billion of assets under management & over 100 employees (last known as of 2014).

This private investment firm is managed by Michael Larson, a very low-profile figure who has continued to remain outside of the limelight. What we do know is that as of last year, Michael Larson & team have generated an annualized return of 11% over the last 26 years.

As of the most recent SEC 13F filing from February, there was no $500 Million Tesla short position shown (next 13F filing is due in May). Currently reporting short positions is not an SEC requirement (that could change soon).

So why would Michael Larson and his team place a short position on Tesla?

The reasons can be many, none of which have to do with wanting the company to go bankrup:

As you can see, the reasons for taking a short position on Tesla could be many.

What many don’t realize is that shorting is an essential part of the financial markets and helps with price discovery. It can also incentivize keen investors and analysts to uncover financial fraud in the case Enron, Worldcom, Luckin’ Coffee etc.

So there you have it, the how and why this supposed $500 million Tesla short could be placed by an investment firm that is in charge of managing Bill Gates’ fortune (and not Bill Gates himself).