Dell, Gates, and Gore Put Their Money Here

Everyone knows that professional investors, such as George Soros and Carl Icahn have top portfolios. But what about those who became rich and famous by building their own companies, or spent most of their life in politics?

Fortunately, Stockpickr has the portfolios of several business leaders and even a politician. So do these businessmen make good investments? Let's examine some of their shareholdings.

Michael Dell is the founder and chairman of the board of Dell (DELL). He started with $1,000 in 1984 and built that investment into today's $42 billion company. His investments are held by MSD Capital.

Among the stocks that Dell owns through this investment vehicle is IHOP (IHP), which operates International House of Pancakes and the Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar restaurants. Julia Stewart, chairman and CEO, predicts greater same-store sales for Applebee's this year. The stock has a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 20, a P/E-to-growth (PEG) ratio of 6.1 and a yield of 2.2%.

Other stocks that are owned by Dell's MSD Capital include Time Warner Telecom (TWTC), which has a forward P/E of 30 and a PEG of 8.3, as well as Darling International (DAR), a food recycling company with a P/E of 14.

Former U.S. vice president Al Gore has his own investment vehicle, Generation Investment Management. Gore served as a congressman from 1977 to 1985 then became a Tennessee senator from 1985 to 1993. Gore, who ran an unsuccessful campaign for the presidency on the Democratic ticket in the 2000 election, won the Nobel Peace Prize for his environmental activism in 2007.