Bill Gates is betting that the Dylan Mulvaney backlash has run its course.
The multibillionaire co-founder of Microsoft has purchased $95 million worth of stock in Anheuser-Busch, which has recently seen its stock tumble over the transgender influencer’s partnership Bud Light.
According to a report on KOMO, a Seattle ABC affiliate affiliated with the Sinclair Broadcast Group, Mr. Gates bought 1.7 million shares of the beer giant through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
In the past year, since Bud Light issued a special commemorative can celebrating the anniversary of Ms. Mulvaney’s gender transition, the brand’s sales have cratered, the parent company has lost billions in stock value, multiple marketing executives have resigned or taken leave, and the brand has become a frequent target of boycotts and demonstrations of public contempt.
Modelo is now the highest-selling beer in the U.S., an honor that Bud Light had held for decades.
In recent months, Bud Light brand-marketing and public contests have focused on such male-oriented partners as the NFL and the Professional Fighters League.
If the Bud Light backlash is indeed over and Anheuser-Busch stock has reached bottom, Mr. Gates could make millions.
• Victor Morton can be reached at vmorton@washingtontimes.com.
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