Edgar Filing: GABELLI EQUITY TRUST INC

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THE GABELLI
EQUITY TRUST INC.

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FIRST QUARTER REPORT
MARCH 31, 2001

(LOGO)

THE GABELLI
EQUITY TRUST INC.

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Our cover icon represents the underpinnings of Gabelli.
The Teton mountains in Wyoming represent what we believe in
America -- that creativity, ingenuity, hard work and a global
uniqueness provide enduring values. They also stand out in
an increasingly complex, interconnected and interdependent
economic world.

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STATE FLAGS

INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE:

The Gabelli Equity Trust Inc. is a closed-end, non-diversified management
investment company whose primary objective is long-term growth of
capital, with income as a secondary objective.

THIS REPORT IS PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER.

(LOGO)
THE GABELLI
EQUITY TRUST INC.
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TO OUR SHAREHOLDERS,

A rapidly decelerating economy and widespread corporate earnings distress
continued to plague the stock market in the first quarter of 2001. Richly valued
growth sectors, particularly technology, sustained most of the damage early in
the quarter. But, in March, more reasonably priced sectors were dragged lower as
equity investors headed for the exits.

Buoyed by the strong relative performance of media and selected industrial
stocks, and takeover profits from one of our largest portfolio holdings, The
Gabelli Equity Trust (the "Trust") was able to preserve shareholder capital in
this truly miserable stock market environment.

INVESTMENT PERFORMANCE

For the first quarter ended March 31, 2001, the Trust's net asset value
("NAV") total return declined 4.28% after adjusting for the reinvestment of the
$0.27 per share distribution paid on March 26, 2001 and an adjustment of $0.56
per share attributable to the intrinsic value of the rights distributed during
this period. The Standard & Poor's ("S&P") 500 Index, Nasdaq Composite Index,
and Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 11.85%, 25.51%, and 8.02%,
respectively, over the same period. Each index is an unmanaged indicator of
stock market performance. The Trust fell 10.02% over the trailing twelve-month
period after adjusting for the reinvestment of the $1.31 per share in
distributions and an adjustment of $0.56 per share attributable to the rights
offering. The S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite Index, and Dow Jones Industrial Average
declined 21.67%, 59.76%, and 8.06%, respectively, over the same twelve-month
period.

For the two-year period ended March 31, 2001, the Trust's total return
averaged 6.89% annually, including reinvestments of $2.48 per share in
distributions, an adjustment of $0.56 per share attributable to the rights
offering, and an adjustment of $0.75 per share attributable to the spin-off of
The Gabelli Utility Trust. The S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite Index declined
3.88% and 13.53%, respectively, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose
2.10%, over the same two-year period. For the five-year period ended March 31,
2001, the Trust's total return averaged 12.04% annually, including reinvestments
of $5.71 per share in distributions, an adjustment of $0.56 per share
attributable to the rights offering, and an adjustment of $0.75 per share
attributable to the spin-off of The Gabelli Utility Trust, versus average annual
total returns of 14.18%, 10.81%, and 14.10% for the S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite
Index, and Dow Jones Industrial Average, respectively.

For the ten-year period ended March 31, 2001, the Trust's total return
averaged 12.70% annually, including reinvestments of $11.05 per share in
distributions, adjustments of $2.21 per share attributable to rights offerings,
and adjustments of $1.50 per share attributable to the spin-off of The Gabelli
Utility Trust and The Gabelli Global Multimedia Trust, versus average annual
total returns of 14.41%, 14.33%, and 15.62% for the S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite
Index, and Dow Jones Industrial Average, respectively. Since inception on August
21, 1986 through March 31, 2001, the Trust had a cumulative total return of
505.80%, including adjustments of $19.43 per share for distributions, rights
offerings, spin-offs and taxes paid on undistributed long term capital gains,
which equates to an average annual total return of 13.11%.

INVESTMENT RESULTS (a)

Quarter
-------------------------------------------
1st 2nd 3rd 4th Year
-------------------------------------------------------

2001: Net Asset Value .................. $9.64 -- -- -- --
Total Return ..................... (4.3)% -- -- -- --
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2000: Net Asset Value .................. $12.68 $12.07 $11.71 $10.89 $10.89
Total Return ..................... 1.7% (2.7)% (0.7)% (2.7)% (4.4)%
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1999: Net Asset Value .................. $11.64 $12.58 $11.11 $12.75 $12.75
Total Return ..................... 3.7% 10.5% (4.3)% 18.0% 29.5%
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1998: Net Asset Value .................. $12.60 $12.35 $10.29 $11.47 $11.47
Total Return ..................... 11.2% 0.2% (14.6)% 15.1% 9.5%
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1997: Net Asset Value .................. $9.68 $10.73 $11.49 $11.56 $11.56
Total Return ..................... 1.7% 13.6% 9.5% 3.1% 30.5%
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1996: Net Asset Value .................. $10.14 $10.10 $9.72 $9.77 $9.77
Total Return ..................... 4.6% 2.2% (1.2)% 3.2% 9.0%
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1995: Net Asset Value .................. $9.71 $9.92 $10.65 $9.95 $9.95
Total Return ..................... 5.3% 4.7% 7.4% 1.9% 20.6%
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1994: Net Asset Value .................. $10.66 $10.42 $10.80 $9.46 $9.46
Total Return ..................... (2.9)% 0.1% 6.1% (2.5)% 0.5%
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1993: Net Asset Value .................. $11.02 $11.33 $11.39 $11.23 $11.23
Total Return ..................... 6.5% 5.1% 7.5% 1.7% 22.4%
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1992: Net Asset Value .................. $10.84 $10.47 $10.42 $10.58 $10.58
Total Return ..................... 4.5% (1.1)% 5.5% 4.6% 14.2%
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1991: Net Asset Value .................. $11.29 $10.91 $10.90 $10.61 $10.61
Total Return ..................... 10.0% (1.2)% 2.2% 4.7% 16.2%
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1990: Net Asset Value .................. $11.96 $11.96 $10.07 $10.49 $10.49
Total Return ..................... (8.5)% 2.1% (13.8)% 8.4% (12.7)%
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1989: Net Asset Value .................. $12.80 $13.94 $14.37 $13.34 $13.34
Total Return ..................... 16.6% 10.9% 4.9% (1.8)% 33.2%
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1988: Net Asset Value .................. $10.56 $11.27 $11.15 $11.22 $11.22
Total Return ..................... 7.5% 6.7% 1.5% 4.4% 21.5%
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1987: Net Asset Value .................. $10.80 $11.62 $11.58 $9.82 $9.82
Total Return ..................... 16.5% 7.6% 4.7% (10.7)% 17.1%
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1986: Net Asset Value .................. -- -- $9.37 $9.40 $9.40
Total Return ..................... -- -- 0.3% (b) 0.3% 0.6% (b)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

AVERAGE ANNUAL RETURNS - MARCH 31, 2001

NAV Average Average Annual
Annual Investment
Return (a) Return (c)
---------- ----------

1 Year ............. (10.02)% 4.35%
5 Year ............. 12.04% 15.28%
10 Year ............ 12.70% 14.17%
Life of Fund (b) ... 13.11% 13.38%

(a) Total returns and average annual returns reflect changes in net asset value,
reinvestment of distributions, adjustments for rights offerings, spin-offs and
taxes paid on undistributed long term capital gains, and are net of expenses.
Life of Fund return based on initial net asset value of $9.34. Of course, the
returns noted represent past performance and do not guarantee future results.
Investment returns and the principal value of an investment will fluctuate. When
shares are sold they may be worth more or less than their original cost.

(b) From commencement of investment operations on August 21, 1986.

(c) Life of Fund return based on initial offering price of $10.00. Total returns
and average annual returns reflect changes in closing market values on the New
York Stock Exchange, reinvestment of distributions, adjustments for rights
offerings, spin-offs and taxes paid on undistributed long-term capital gains.

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The Trust's common shares ended the first quarter at $10.69 per share on
the New York Stock Exchange, a premium to the net asset value of 10.89% and a
total return of 1.07% for the first quarter. The Trust's common shares rose
4.35% over the trailing twelve-month period after adjusting for all
distributions and the rights offering.

RIGHTS OFFERING 2001 - AN OUTSTANDING SUCCESS - THANK YOU

The Equity Trust Rights Offering proved once again to be an overwhelming
success. Rights offerings have historically been a fair and efficient method to
raise additional capital. This method is widely used in England. The traditional
rights offering allows an issuer's shareholders to participate directly in the
growth of that issuer by purchasing additional common shares at a set
subscription price.

Shareholders of record on January 10, 2001 were issued one Right for each
share of the Trust. Six Rights were required to purchase one additional share of
the Trust at $7 per share without incurring commission costs. Shareholders
remitted over $226 million in subscription requests, of which the Trust retained
$126 million for the 18,114,735 shares offered. This compares favorably to our
four previous Rights Offerings in 1991, 1992, 1993 and 1995.

Furthermore, since these Rights were transferable, shareholders who chose
not to exercise their Rights, could sell their Rights. The market value of the
Rights during the subscription period was such that sellers of the Rights would
have regained a portion of the ultimate decline in the value of their holdings
that resulted from the Offering. Our subscription agent, EquiServe, sold Rights
submitted by shareholders in the open market through Gabelli & Company, Inc. at
a nominal commission through February 12, 2001.

We appreciate the efforts of the brokerage community in explaining the
offering to their clients, resulting in a high level of participation.

COMMENTARY

MONETARY POLICY + FISCAL POLICY + LEVELING OF ENERGY + ROUND OF INVENTORY
CORRECTIONS = CONSUMER LEAD ECONOMIC RECOVERY AND EARNINGS GAINS IN 2002

Federal Reserve Board ("Fed") Chairman Alan Greenspan was a superhero to
Wall Street through a decade-long economic expansion and bull market. Suddenly,
he is on the verge of becoming public enemy number one, raising interest rates
too aggressively when the economy and stock market were roaring, and failing to
reverse course fast enough as the economy flagged and the stock market went into
a tailspin. In reality, Mr. Greenspan has always been a mere mortal, and a very
smart guy who has done a good job tuning monetary policy to the natural rhythms
of the business cycle.

It took a series of six Federal Funds rate hikes to put the brakes on a
runaway economy. The Fed has already cut rates three times in the first quarter,
once again in April, and it will probably continue easing to help the economy
regain momentum. Fed rate cuts will eventually put the economy back on a growth
path, albeit not as rapidly as Wall

Street might like. While the stock market decline has been painful for everyone,
much if not all the excesses in the market have been eliminated, providing a
much more solid foundation to build upon.

YES VIRGINIA, THERE IS A BUSINESS CYCLE

Where are we today? Where are we headed tomorrow? Most of us with gray
hair (or no hair) have been around long enough to recognize an old-fashioned
inventory correction when we see one. During the good times, businesses expand
capacity and production to meet rising demand. When demand slackens, production
must be cut. The pipeline has to be brought into balance. Corporate earnings
suffer until demand firms and excess inventories are worked off. This is
Economics 101. The only difference in this otherwise classic inventory
correction is that it developed much quicker than most expected and had an
exaggerated impact on a grossly overvalued stock market.

AND THE QUESTION IS ...

Let us revisit what we articulated in our 2000 annual report. "OVER THE
NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS, THE OVERALL MARKET NEEDS TO UNDERSTAND WHETHER MONETARY
POLICY (GREENSPAN'S RATE CUTS) MARRIED WITH FISCAL POLICY (BUSH'S TAX CUTS) WILL
PROVIDE THE BALLAST TO OVERCOME THE ECONOMIC DRAG CREATED BY: A CONSUMER
SPENDING BINGE (TIED TO THE STOCK MARKET'S WEALTH EFFECT); OVERSPENDING ON
CAPITAL EQUIPMENT; AND A TRADE DEFICIT OF GIGANTIC PROPORTIONS."

In our opinion, this inventory correction will also end faster than most
folks are anticipating. Demand appears to be flattening out, and with lower
variable rate mortgage payments, adjustments to higher gasoline prices and
higher home heating/cooling costs (but not for California residents where a
catch-up is in process), and some extra money in paychecks coupled with a
renewed belief that things will get better from lower federal income taxes
headed our way this summer, demand should begin recovering. It may take time for
inventories to get worked off, and past over-investment in capital equipment
will dampen the recovery. Yet, we believe corporate earnings should begin
rebounding in the first quarter of 2002.

MARKET LIMBO--HOW LOW CAN IT GO?

Just because we see light at the end of the economic tunnel, does not mean
the market has bottomed. Investors overreact to good and bad news. We will
continue to see some bad economic news over the next several quarters such as
rising unemployment and concerns over the dollar imbalance. So, we suggest that
investors keep their seat belts buckled in expectation of further market
turbulence, while we invest in terrific opportunities that Mr. Market has
provided.

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EDGAR REPRESENTATION OF DATA POINTS USED IN PRINTED GRAPHIC

EURO VS. U.S. DOLLAR

1999 2000 2001
Jan 1.18 1.02 0.95
1.18 1.03 0.95
1.16 1.03 0.95
1.17 1.03 0.95
1.16 1.03 0.95
1.15 1.03 0.94
1.15 1.03 0.94
1.17 1.03 0.95
1.17 1.03 0.95
1.16 1.01 0.94
1.16 1.01 0.94
1.16 1.01 0.93
1.16 1.01 0.94
1.16 1.01 0.94
1.16 1.00 0.94
1.16 1.00 0.94
1.15 1.00 0.93
1.14 0.99 0.92
1.14 0.98 0.92
1.13 0.98 0.92
Feb 1.13 0.97 0.93
1.13 0.98 0.93
1.13 0.99 0.94
1.13 0.98 0.94
1.13 0.98 0.94
1.13 0.99 0.93
1.13 0.99 0.93
1.13 0.99 0.92
1.13 0.98 0.93
1.12 0.98 0.93
1.12 0.98 0.92
1.12 0.98 0.92
1.11 0.99 0.91
1.10 0.99 0.92
1.10 1.01 0.92
1.10 1.00 0.91
1.11 0.99 0.91
1.10 0.98 0.91
1.09 0.97 0.91
1.09 0.96 0.91
1.09 0.97 0.91
Mar 1.08 0.96 0.92
1.08 0.96 0.93
1.09 0.96 0.93
1.09 0.96 0.93
1.10 0.96 0.93
1.09 0.97 0.93
1.09 0.97 0.93
1.09 0.96 0.93
1.09 0.96 0.93
1.10 0.97 0.92
1.10 0.97 0.91
1.09 0.97 0.90
1.09 0.97 0.89
1.09 0.97 0.90
1.09 0.96 0.91
1.09 0.97 0.90
1.07 0.97 0.89
1.07 0.96 0.89
1.07 0.96 0.90
1.08 0.95 0.89
1.08 0.96 0.89
1.08 0.96 0.88
1.07 0.96 0.88
Apr 1.08 0.96 0.88
1.08 0.96 0.89
1.08 0.96 0.90
1.08 0.96 0.90
1.08 0.96 0.90
1.08 0.96 0.90
1.08 0.96 0.89
1.07 0.95 0.89
1.07 0.96 0.89
1.06 0.96 0.89
1.06 0.95 0.88
1.06 0.94 0.88
1.06 0.94 0.89
1.06 0.94 0.90
1.06 0.94 0.90
1.06 0.93 0.89
1.06 0.92 0.90
1.06 0.91 0.90
1.06 0.91 0.89
1.06 0.91 0.89
1.06 0.91 0.89
1.07 0.89 0.89
May 1.08 0.89 0.89
1.08 0.90 0.89
1.08 0.90 0.89
1.07 0.90 0.88
1.07 0.91
1.06 0.90
1.07 0.91
1.07 0.91
1.07 0.91
1.06 0.89
1.06 0.90
1.06 0.89
1.06 0.90
1.06 0.90
1.05 0.91
1.04 0.91
1.04 0.93
1.04 0.93
1.04 0.93
1.04 0.93
1.03 0.94
1.03 0.95
Jun 1.04 0.96
1.05 0.96
1.05 0.95
1.05 0.95
1.04 0.95
1.04 0.96
1.03 0.96
1.03 0.95
1.04 0.96
1.03 0.96
1.03 0.96
1.03 0.95
1.04 0.94
1.04 0.94
1.04 0.94
1.03 0.94
1.03 0.94
1.02 0.95
1.02 0.95
1.02 0.95
1.02 0.95
1.02 0.95
Jul 1.02 0.95
1.01 0.95
1.02 0.95
1.02 0.94
1.02 0.93
1.02 0.94
1.02 0.94
1.04 0.93
1.05 0.92
1.05 0.93
1.05 0.93
1.07 0.93
1.06 0.94
1.06 0.94
1.07 0.93
1.07 0.92
1.07 0.93
1.07 0.92
1.08 0.91
1.08 0.90
1.08 0.91
1.07 0.91
Aug 1.08 0.90
1.07 0.90
1.06 0.91
1.06 0.90
1.06 0.90
1.05 0.91
1.05 0.91
1.06 0.92
1.07 0.91
1.06 0.90
1.05 0.90
1.05 0.90
1.04 0.90
1.05 0.90
1.04 0.90
1.06 0.90
1.06 0.89
1.07 0.89
1.06 0.90
1.06 0.89
1.06 0.87
1.05 0.87
Sep 1.04 0.87
1.04 0.86
1.04 0.86
1.04 0.86
1.04 0.86
1.04 0.86
1.04 0.85
1.05 0.85
1.05 0.85
1.04 0.86
1.05 0.88
1.04 0.87
1.05 0.88
1.06 0.88
1.06 0.88
1.07 0.88
1.07 0.88
1.07 0.87
1.07 0.87
1.07 0.87
1.06 0.87
Oct 1.07 0.87
1.08 0.87
1.08 0.86
1.09 0.86
1.09 0.85
1.08 0.85
1.08 0.84
1.08 0.84
1.07 0.84
1.07 0.84
1.06 0.84
1.05 0.83
1.05 0.83
1.05 0.84
1.05 0.84
1.05 0.85
1.05 0.86
1.04 0.86
1.04 0.86
1.04 0.86
1.04 0.86
Nov 1.04 0.86
1.03 0.86
1.03 0.86
1.03 0.86
1.04 0.86
1.03 0.85
1.03 0.85
1.03 0.85
1.03 0.85
1.02 0.84
1.01 0.84
1.01 0.84
1.01 0.85
1.01 0.85
1.00 0.86
1.00 0.87
1.03 0.88
1.02 0.89
1.03 0.88
1.02 0.89
Dec 1.02 0.89
1.01 0.88
1.01 0.88
1.01 0.88
1.02 0.88
1.01 0.89
1.01 0.90
1.01 0.89
1.01 0.89
1.02 0.91
1.01 0.91
1.01 0.92
1.01 0.93
1.00 0.93
1.00 0.94
1.01

Today, we can buy pieces of terrific businesses run by good managers at 3,
4, and 5 times free cash flow. We believe we can earn good long-term returns as
these businesses grow and periodically receive windfall profits as corporate
acquirers take advantage of portfolio bargains.

GREAT EXPECTATIONS

Although we believe the stock market will rebound in the second half and
continue to deliver better long-term returns than other asset classes, we
caution investors not to expect too much. Over the next decade, we see Gross
World Product ("GWP") growing 3.0% to 3.5% annually with inflation running at 2%
to 3%. Companies are still cutting costs and improving productivity. So, on a
secular basis, we think 8% to 9% average annualized earnings gains are
realistic. However, going forward, we do not expect equity returns to nearly
double earnings gains as they did over the last decade. We think it is more
likely for stock returns to approximate earnings growth. This may be
disappointing to a generation of investors who have become accustomed to annual
percentage gains in the mid to high teens. But, to put it in perspective, it
translates into 20,000 on the Dow Jones Industrial Average in ten years. We
suggest that doubling your money over the next decade is not such a bad deal.

COURT TV

On March 3, 2001, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
Circuit ruled that federal regulations preventing companies from serving more
than 30% of the nation's total cable television or satellite television markets
violated their First Amendment Rights of free speech. The court also struck down
rules barring cable television companies from controlling more than 40% of the
channels and programming assets they offer to the public. This is a big win for
big cable and for investors who own smaller Community Access Television and
cable network stocks, which are likely targets in the next round of
consolidation in the industry.

The court's decision may be the death knell for other restrictive Federal
Communications Commission ("FCC") regulations, such as rules preventing
broadcasters from owning TV stations reaching more than 35% of the total
population, and barring companies from owning television stations and newspapers
in the same markets. We suspect the court's decision will encourage the FCC to
consider sweeping changes in existing regulations that have prevented multimedia
giants from expanding their turf.

ADDITIONAL CATALYSTS

Going forward, new full disclosure regulations (so-called FD rules) should
compel Wall Street to focus more on fundamentals in the future. Too many Wall
Street analysts have been serving as investment bankers in drag -- tailoring
their stock recommendations to please existing investment banking clients and
attract new ones, rather than providing an honest appraisal of companies'
fundamental prospects. In addition, too much focus was placed on short-term
earnings dynamics rather than long-term fundamentals. To wit, you could have
filled a small library with Wall Street's dot-com stock recommendations when the
new issues market was at its hottest in early 2000. In addition, momentum
investors needed early insights into monthly data, which were not available to
the general investor, to maintain their game. Consequently, investors
concentrating on fundamentals, particularly those focusing on the long ignored
and undervalued small cap sector, should receive more support from Wall Street
going forward. We believe this will benefit value-oriented fundamentalists such
as yours truly. Some have described our research process as "going belly to
belly" with management, and seeing customers and competitors. This will help
Wall Street refocus its research on smaller companies as they provide good
insights into larger companies in an industry.

Currently, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") is in the
process of substantially altering APB 17, which is an accounting rule that
focuses on the amortization of goodwill. Under the original APB 17, when a
company makes an acquisition under the purchase method of accounting, the excess
of cost over the fair value of the net assets acquired is recorded as goodwill
and put on the balance sheet. The goodwill is then amortized over a period of no
longer than 40 years - impacting reported earnings. Under the new proposal by
the FASB (which is still being drafted by the FASB), goodwill would still be
recognized and placed on the balance sheet, but it would no longer be amortized
over 40 years. Instead, goodwill would be reviewed for impairment and
periodically written down when necessary. Simply stated, using purchase
accounting will no longer be a deterrent to transactions. This should fuel the
propensity for deal activity.

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EDGAR REPRESENTATION OF DATA POINTS USED IN PRINTED GRAPHIC

U.S. DEAL ACTIVITY
$ BILLIONS

1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

$135 $150 $234 $340 $511 $652 $919 $1,620 $1,745 $1,833

An added element spurring on Mergers & Acquisitions ("M&A") activity is
the change in the Hart-Scott-Rodino ("HSR") Act. HSR was enacted to provide the
public with adequate visibility to a corporate transaction. Previously, any
stock purchase larger than $15 million required a notice filing under HSR.
Effective February 1, 2001, this "bar" has been raised to $50 million -
permitting more "involuntary" deals to take place. Our portfolio is full of
small companies trading at discounts to Private Market Value, defined as the
price an informed industrialist would be willing to pay for the company's
assets. We expect takeover lightning to hit more of these small cap portfolio
holdings in the year ahead.
Finally, banking company regulations are also in transition. One element
affecting their reported earnings are new accounting rules which require
companies to record derivative instruments and certain hedging activities at
fair market value. Changes in the fair market values of these items will flow
through a bank's Profit & Loss ("P&L"), creating volatility in earnings.
Formerly, these transactions had no effect on earnings. The same may apply to
debt instruments.

FLOW OF FUNDS ($ Billions)

SOURCES 1997 1998 1999 2000
----- ------ ------ ------

U.S. Deals $919 $1,620 $1,745 $1,833
Stock Buybacks 181 207 176 227
Mutual Funds 232 159 222 297
Dividends 335 352 371 400
----- ------ ------ ------
TOTAL SOURCES: $1,667 $2,338 $2,514 $2,757
====== ====== ====== ======
SOURCE: THOMSON FINANCIAL SECURITIES DATA, BIRINYI ASSOCIATES

DEAL ACTIVITY

A component of our investment methodology is to identify industry and
sector trends and themes ahead of the curve and position ourselves to take
advantage of these developments. Consolidation in a particular industry is one
such dynamic. As we have shared with you in previous quarterly letters, the
continued high level of activity in mergers and acquisitions contributed
significantly to the solid performance of the Trust. The accompanying table
illustrates how deal activity surfaced value in a small sample of the portfolio
holdings.

2001 COMPLETED DEALS

NUMBER AVERAGE COST CLOSING
FUND HOLDING OF SHARES (a) PER SHARE (b) PRICE (c) CLOSING DATE % RETURN (d)
------------ ------------- ------------- --------- ------------ ------------
FIRST QUARTER 2001 ANNOUNCED DEALS
----------------------------------

Time Warner Inc. 285,000 30.67 71.19 01/12/01 132.12%
Telefonos de Mexico SA, Cl. L, ADR 36,000 10.82 32.66 02/08/01 201.85%

FIRST QUARTER 2001 FINANCIAL ENGINEERING
----------------------------------------
Cablevision Systems Corp., Cl. A 420,000 11.28 83.36 03/30/01 639.01%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(a) Number of shares held by the Fund on the final day of trading for the
issuer.
(b) Average purchase price of issuer's shares held by the Fund on the final
day of trading for the issuer.
(c) Closing price on the final day of trading for the issuer or the tender
price on the closing date of the tender offer.
(d) Represents average estimated return based on average cost per share and
closing price per share.

NOTE: SEE THE PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS FOR A COMPLETE LISTING OF
HOLDINGS.

REPUBLICANS TO THE RESCUE

Putting aside political preferences and other important political issues,
Republican George W. Bush's victory may foreshadow a period of relaxed federal
regulation. We believe that the new Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") Chairman
will be somewhat less sensitive to antitrust issues, and the Justice Department
will be somewhat more reluctant to prosecute companies whose business success
has translated into dominant market shares. We are not suggesting monopolies are
a good thing. In fact, we hope the government continues to protect American
consumers from the abuses that can result from too much pricing power being
concentrated in too few hands. However, we are now in a truly global marketplace
in which technology continues to knock down competitive barriers. We do not
think it is productive to handcuff large American companies trying to improve
their competitive position on the global economic stage.

INTERNATIONAL OUTLOOK

A portion of the Trust's portfolio continues to be managed by Caesar
Bryan. Caesar is the portfolio manager of the Gabelli International Growth Fund
and the co-portfolio manager of The Gabelli Global Opportunity Fund. Caesar's
thoughts on international markets and global economies are provided below:

The last year has been a humbling experience for many portfolio managers.
Certainly it has been for this one. Losing money is not fun, but a loss is only
realized when a position is sold. We do not think this is a time for selling. On
the contrary, markets have suffered a very nasty but probably necessary
cleansing. We believe that this is a good

time to be committing assets to both Europe and Japan. The long-term bullish
case for Europe remains unchanged. European companies are becoming more
competitive as the cost of doing business on a pan-European basis declines.
Governments are cutting taxes and instituting reforms, which will result in
increased savings and investment at the retail level. The introduction of the
Euro will result in a more efficient capital market.

We believe Japan offers some interesting investment opportunities. The
necessity of meaningful reform is overwhelming and we believe this has been
recognized by the Japanese authorities. For example, the text of the recent Bank
of Japan statement, in which they announced a return to the zero interest rate
policy on March 19, 2001, is revealing. It reads, "in order to make this
monetary easing totally effective in restoring Japan's economy on a sustainable
growth path, progress in structural reforms with respect to the financial
system...is essential...The Bank OF Japan strongly hopes that decisive action be
taken to address fundamental problems...under a strong leadership of thE
government of Japan." We expect that Japan's new Prime Minister will undertake
meaningful structural reforms.

This portion of the Trust's portfolio invests in established companies in
developed markets outside the United States. We look for companies that have the
ability to grow faster than the average. We favor companies whose business has a
competitive advantage, franchise business, large market share and a high barrier
to entry. We like to back managements that have a stake in the company and who
have a strong track record. And finally we look for companies that are
self-financing and have a strong balance sheet.

These criteria tend to result in the portfolio not having a very heavy
exposure to the technology sector. Most technology companies do not maintain
market leadership for an extended period of time, and those that do are mostly
American. There are exceptions such as Nokia, which has built a global brand,
and Rohm, a Japanese electronic components company. We own shares in both these
companies. So although we mostly avoided the sell off in this sector, some of
our media, telecommunications and consumer durable holdings performed just as
poorly.

These companies have a strong franchise, limited competition and generate
free cash flow. However, the shares have been beaten down to levels that we
believe are very attractive. Maybe the market has been a little indiscriminate
in its treatment of some companies within the Technology, Media and
Telecommunications sector.

The contrast between the actions taken by the Fed and the lack of action
from the European Central Bank ("ECB") is stark. Since the start of 2001, the
Fed has reduced short-term rates by 200 basis points to 4.50%. The Fed cited
weak capital expenditures and the effect that this and the fall in the stock
market might have on the American consumer as reasons to be so aggressive. The
ECB, during the same time frame, has stood pat and done nothing. This is despite
signs of a slowdown that are appearing all over Europe. Instead, the ECB has
concentrated its statements on the high and rising level of inflation in Europe.
Inflation in Europe is running at about 2.8% and short-term interest rates are
4.75%. Are conditions in Europe so different than the U.S.? The capital
expenditure excesses were less pronounced in Europe. Clearly, Europeans are less
exposed to the stock market and their personal savings levels are higher than
their American counterparts, but it's hard to believe that a slowdown in the
U.S. will not have some impact on Europe -- especially corporate Europe.

Looking ahead, the balance of probabilities point to the ECB lowering
rates from their current level. This should help to support the equity market in
general and growth stocks in particular. A recovery in European equity markets
could also be accompanied by a strengthening Euro, which will bolster returns
for an U.S. dollar investor.

HOW MUCH IS THAT DOGGIE IN THE WINDOW?

When you buy great businesses at bargain prices, takeover lightning will
bolster returns. Sometimes lightning strikes a bunch of smaller portfolio trees.
This quarter it hit one of our largest positions, Ralston Purina, which on
January 16, 2001 agreed to be acquired by Nestle for $33.50 per share.

In recent years, while all Wall Street's analytical expertise (a new
oxymoron?) was focused on technology, we were studying more prosaic businesses
-- the kind of things you didn't need an advanced computer sciences degree from
MIT to understand. When we started researching the pet products industry, we saw
positive growth demographics and some wonderful companies trading at very
attractive valuations. Among our favorites was Ralston Purina, the number one
pet-food company in the world. The Ralston Purina/Nestle deal is scheduled to
close by the end of this year, with a takeout premium approximately twice that
of the Trust's average cost; proving that the best investments are often right
under your nose, or in this case, digging holes in the backyard or scratching
the living room furniture.

INVESTMENT SCORECARD

Among this quarter's best performers were telecommunications/cable
television giant AT&T, small group broadcaster Gray Communications,
broadcaster/newspaper publisher Media General, and auto parts manufacturers
Standard Motor Products, Modine, Sealed Air, Dana, and GenCorp. Services
conglomerate Cendant also generated solid returns. There was a definite "worst
to first" flavor to the first page of our performance rankings list, with some
beaten down portfolio companies rebounding strongly.

The reverse characterized our biggest losers list, with wireless services
provider Nextel Communications and financial services giant American Express
retreating after strong gains in recent years.

LET'S TALK STOCKS

The following are stock specifics on selected holdings of our Trust.
Favorable earnings prospects do not necessarily translate into higher stock
prices, but they do express a positive trend which we believe will develop over
time.

BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC. (BRK'A - $65,450 - NYSE) is Warren Buffett. The company
has interests in insurance (notably GEICO and General Re), publishing, aviation,
retailing, and manufacturing. Its investment portfolio includes over $37 billion
of marketable equity securities. Berkshire has grown rapidly through
acquisitions over the past 15 years, including Kirby vacuum cleaners; World Book
encyclopedias; H. H. Brown, Dexter and Justin footwear; Executive Jet aviation;
Dairy Queen restaurants and snack treats; Johns Manville building products;
Benjamin Moore paints; Shaw Industries carpets; GEICO insurance; and General Re
reinsurance. GEICO, the sixth largest auto insurer in the U.S., contributes 19%
of revenues while General Re, the fourth largest reinsurer globally, contributes
30% of revenues.

CABLEVISION SYSTEMS CORP. (CVC - $83.36 - NYSE) is one of the nation's leading
communications and entertainment companies, with a portfolio of operations that
spans state-of-the-art cable television services, championship professional
sports teams and national cable television networks. Headquartered in Bethpage,
N.Y., Cablevision serves nearly 3 million cable customers in the most important
cable TV market -- New York. Cablevision also owns and operates New York City's
famed Madison Square Garden ("MSG"), which includes the arena complex, the N.Y.
Knicks, the N.Y. Rangers and the MSG network. MSG operates Radio City
Entertainment and holds a long-term lease for Radio City Music Hall, home of the
world-famous Rockettes. On March 30th, shares that track the performance of the
firm's national cable programming subsidiary, Rainbow Media Group (RMG - $26.00
- NYSE), began trading on the NYSE. Rainbow manages growing content offerings
such as American Movie Classics, Bravo and The Independent Film Channel.

CHRIS-CRAFT INDUSTRIES INC. (CCN - $63.25 - NYSE), through its 80% ownership of
BHC Communications (BHC - $121.00 - AMEX), is primarily a television
broadcaster. BHC owns and operates UPN affiliated stations in New York (WWOR),
Los Angeles (KCOP) and Portland, Oregon (KPTV). BHC also owns 58% of United
Television Inc. (UTVI - $113.75 - Nasdaq), which operates an NBC affiliate, an
ABC affiliate and five UPN affiliates. Chris-Craft's television stations
constitute one of the nation's largest television station groups, reaching
approximately 22% of U.S. households. Chris-Craft is a major beneficiary of the
recent FCC ruling allowing television duopoly, or ownership of two stations in a
single market. The Chris-Craft complex is debt free, with roughly $1.5 billion
in cash and marketable securities. On August 14, 2000, News Corp. (NWS - $31.40
- NYSE) announced that it would purchase Chris-Craft (along with BHC and United
Television) in a deal worth $5.35 billion. According to the terms of the deal,
CCN shareholders will receive a package of cash and securities having an
"initial" stated value of $85 per share.

LIBERTY MEDIA GROUP (LMG'A - $14.00 - NYSE), run by savvy media investor John
Malone, is engaged in businesses that provide programming services (including
production, acquisition, and distribution through all media formats) as well as
businesses engaged in electronic retailing, direct marketing and other services.
Liberty Media holds interests in globally-branded entertainment networks such as
Discovery Channel, USA Network, QVC, Encore and STARZ! Liberty's investment
portfolio also includes interests in international video distribution
businesses, international telephony and domestic wireless companies, plant and
equipment manufacturers, and other businesses related to broadband services.
Liberty Media Group Class A and Class B common stock are tracking stocks of
AT&T, though they are scheduled to be spun off to the tracking stock
shareholders in mid-2001.

MEDIA GENERAL INC. (MEG'A - $46.10 - AMEX) is a Richmond, Virginia-based
communications company that is primarily focused on the Southeast. Its newspaper
publishing operations include the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Winston-Salem
Journal, The Tampa Tribune, and 22 other daily newspapers. This includes 5 daily
newspapers, clustered in Alabama and South Carolina, which the company bought
from Thomson Corp. for $237 million in August 2000. The company also owns a 20
percent interest in the Denver Post. Media General also operates twenty-six
television stations primarily located in Southeastern markets, including eight
purchased from Spartan Communications on March 27, 2000 for $605 million. The
company sold its Garden State Paper Co. to Enron Corp. (ENE - $58.10 - NYSE) for
$72 million in August 2000, but still owns 33% of SP Newsprint Company.

TELEPHONE & DATA SYSTEMS INC. (TDS - $93.50 - AMEX) provides mobile and local
phone services to 3.6 million customers in 35 states. TDS conducts its cellular
operations through an 81% owned United States Cellular Corp. (USM - $63.50 -
AMEX) and its wireline telephone operations through its wholly-owned TDS
Telecommunications Corp. ("TDS Telecom") subsidiary, a full-service local
exchange carrier. Having completed a merger of its 82%-owned PCS subsidiary
Aerial Communications with VoiceStream Wireless Corp. (VSTR - $92.375 - Nasdaq),
TDS now owns 35.6 million shares of VoiceStream valued at over $4.0 billion.
VoiceStream is in the process of being acquired by Deutsche Telekom (DT - $23.19
- NYSE), a former German phone monopoly, for 3.2 DT shares plus $30 in cash per
VSTR share.

UNITED TELEVISION INC. (UTVI - $113.75 - NASDAQ), headquartered in Beverly
Hills, California, is a television broadcasting group which owns and operates
seven of the stations (one ABC, one NBC and five UPN affiliates) that comprise
Chris-Craft's (CCN - $63.25 - NYSE) television division. UTVI stations cover
approximately nine percent of the U.S. population. UTVI is 58%-owned by BHC
Communications (BHC - $121.00 - AMEX). United Television is a beneficiary of the
recent FCC ruling allowing television duopoly, or ownership of two stations in a
single market. On August 14, 2000, News Corp. (NWS - $31.40 - NYSE) announced it
would purchase United Television (along with Chris-Craft and BHC) in a deal
worth $5.35 billion.

VIACOM INC. (VIA - $44.50 - NYSE) is a diversified media company with businesses
across many media platforms. The firm operates cable networks (including VH1,
MTV, Showtime and Nickelodeon), television networks and stations (including the
CBS and UPN Television networks and numerous affiliated TV stations in major
markets), major market radio stations and outdoor advertising (through Infinity
Broadcasting), a movie studio (Paramount), a publishing house (Simon and
Schuster), amusement parks (Paramount Parks) and video rental operations
(Blockbuster Inc). The company focuses on high growth businesses and aims to
deliver cash flow growth that is above the industry average.

COMMON STOCK 10% DISTRIBUTION POLICY

The Trust continues to maintain its 10% Distribution Policy whereby the
Trust pays out to common stock shareholders 10% of its average net assets each
year. Pursuant to this policy, the Trust distributed $0.27 per share on March
26, 2001. The next distribution is scheduled for June 2001.

7.25% TAX ADVANTAGED CUMULATIVE PREFERRED STOCK - DIVIDENDS

The Trust's 7.25% Tax Advantaged Cumulative Preferred Stock paid a cash
distribution on March 26, 2001 of $0.453125 per share. For the twelve-months
ended March 31, 2001, Preferred Stock shareholders received distributions
totaling $1.8125, the annual dividend rate per share of Preferred Stock. The
next distribution is scheduled for June 2001.

WWW.GABELLI.COM

Please visit us on the Internet. Our homepage at http://www.gabelli.com
contains information about Gabelli Asset Management Inc., the Gabelli Mutual
Funds, IRAs, 401(k)s, quarterly reports, closing prices and other current news.
You can send us e-mail at closedend@gabelli.com.

In our efforts to bring our shareholders more timely portfolio
information, Gabelli Fund's portfolio managers regularly participate in chat
sessions at www.gabelli.com as reflected below.

WHO WHEN
--- ----
Special Chats: Mario J. Gabelli First Monday of each month
Howard Ward First Tuesday of each month

In addition, every Wednesday will feature a different portfolio manager. The
Upcoming Wednesday chat schedule is as follows:

MAY JUNE JULY
--- ---- ----

1st Wednesday Ivan Arteaga Caesar Bryan July 4th - Holiday
2nd Wednesday Walter Walsh Kellie Stark Charles Minter
3rd Wednesday Jeff Fahrenbruch Ivan Arteaga Walter Walsh
4th Wednesday Tim O'Brien Barbara Marcin Barbara Marcin

All chat sessions start at 4:15 ET. Please arrive early, as participation
is limited.
You may sign up for our HIGHLIGHTS email newsletter at www.gabelli.com and
receive early notice of chat sessions, closing mutual fund prices, news events
and media sightings.

IN CONCLUSION

There is still a business cycle that impacts corporate profits. When
earnings disappoint, the most richly valued stocks decline the most. These
simple economic/investment truths should be self-evident. We believe we are in
the midst of what will prove to be a relatively short-lived inventory correction
and that corporate earnings will begin recovering next year. If history is to be
the prologue to the future, the stock market should begin anticipating a profit
recovery later this year. In the interim, the market will remain volatile,
frightening off inexperienced equity investors. Savvy investors will hold the
fort, recognizing that buying good businesses at reasonable prices will be
satisfactorily rewarding over the long term.

Sincerely,

/s/ MARIO J. GABELLI

MARIO J. GABELLI, CFA
Portfolio Manager and
Chief Investment Officer
May 8, 2001

TOP TEN HOLDINGS
MARCH 31, 2001

Chris-Craft Industries Inc.
Telephone & Data Systems Inc.
Viacom Inc.
Cablevision Systems Corp.
United Television Inc.

Ralston Purina Group
Liberty Media Group
Media General Inc.
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
Telecom Italia SpA

NOTE: The views expressed in this report reflect those of the portfolio managers
only through the end of the period stated in this report. The managers' views
are subject to change at any time based on market and other conditions.

THE GABELLI EQUITY TRUST INC.
PORTFOLIO CHANGES
QUARTER ENDED MARCH 31, 2001
(UNAUDITED)

OWNERSHIP AT
MARCH 31,
SHARES 2001
------- ------------

NET PURCHASES
COMMON STOCKS
America Movil, SA de CV, ADR (a) 45,000 45,000
AOL Time Warner Inc. (b) ........ 380,000 380,000
Apogent Technologies Inc. ....... 33,000 34,000
ArvinMeritor Inc. ............... 7,000 20,000
AT&T Canada Inc., Cl. B ......... 6,000 10,000
AT&T Corp. ...................... 270,006 640,000
BAE Systems plc ................. 25,000 125,000
BroadWing Inc. .................. 3,000 25,000
Burlington Resources Inc. ....... 20,000 130,000
Cadbury Schweppes plc, ADR ...... 1,000 1,000
Capcom Co. Ltd. ................. 10,000 20,000
Cendant Corp. ................... 80,000 200,000
Compass Group plc (c) ........... 150,940 150,940
Conoco Inc., Cl. A .............. 5,000 155,000
Corn Products International Inc. 5,000 90,000
Corning Inc. .................... 30,000 30,000
Crane Co. ....................... 120,000 270,000
CRH plc ......................... 22,500 112,500
EMC Corp. ....................... 10,000 10,000
First Union Corp. ............... 15,000 125,000
General Motors Corp., Cl. H ..... 4,000 180,323
Gerber Scientific Inc. .......... 5,000 110,000
Gillette Co. .................... 70,000 250,000
Gray Communications
Systems Inc., Cl. B .......... 7,000 7,000
Heinz (H.J.) Co. ................ 7,000 22,000
Hercules Inc. ................... 70,000 70,000
Litton Industries Inc. .......... 80,000 100,000
Loral Space & Communications Ltd. 20,000 160,000
Lucent Technologies Inc. ........ 30,000 70,000
Lufkin Industries Inc. .......... 7,500 60,000
Mattel Inc. ..................... 20,000 65,000
MGM Mirage Inc. ................. 15,000 20,000
Midas Inc. ...................... 20,000 90,000
Molex Inc., Cl. A ............... 5,000 9,000
Morgan (J.P.) Chase & Co. Inc. (d) 48,100 48,100
Motorola Inc. ................... 10,000 50,000
National Presto Industries Inc. . 2,000 42,000
Newmont Mining Corp. ............ 35,000 105,000
Nextel Communications Inc., Cl. A 75,000 100,000
Nikko Securities Co. Ltd. ....... 16,500 116,500
Nokia Corp., Cl. A, ADR ......... 5,000 27,000
Northeast Utilities ............. 15,000 65,000
PepsiAmericas Inc. (e) .......... 491,595 491,595
Philips Electronics NV .......... 10,000 26,640
Placer Dome Inc. ................ 25,000 50,000
Powertel Inc. (f) ............... 5,038 5,038
Procter & Gamble Co. ............ 110,000 110,000
Ralston Purina Group ............ 175,000 800,000
Rogers Wireless Communications Inc.,
Cl. B ........................ 33,000 73,000
Rohm Co. Ltd. ................... 3,100 5,100
Shimano Inc. .................... 20,000 20,000

OWNERSHIP AT
MARCH 31,
SHARES 2001
------- ------------

SJW Corp. ....................... 100 3,000
Sodexho Marriott Services Inc. .. 1,000 1,000
Sony Corp., ADR ................. 2,000 34,000
Stanley Electric Co. Ltd. ....... 30,000 72,000
Sulzer AG ....................... 3,000 3,000
Sybron Dental Specialties Inc. .. 9,667 10,000
Takeda Chemical Industries Ltd. . 4,000 18,000
Telefonica SA, ADR (g) .......... 10,300 265,250
Telefonica SA, BDR (g) .......... 631 16,257
THK Co. Ltd. .................... 6,000 35,000
Thomas & Betts Corp. ............ 88,000 200,000
Tootsie Roll Industries Inc. (h) 2,937 100,831
UCAR International Inc. ......... 5,500 70,000
UnitedGlobalCom Inc., Cl. A ..... 70,000 130,000
UtiliCorp United Inc. (i) ....... 5,000 5,000
VoiceStream Wireless Corp. (f) .. 3,037 4,992
Westvaco Corp. .................. 2,000 102,000
Willamette Industries Inc. ...... 57,800 180,000
Wrigley (Wm.) Jr. Co. (j) ....... 76,000 152,000
XO Communications Inc., Cl. A ... 7,000 15,000

RIGHTS
Rogers Wireless Communications
Inc.(k) ....................... 73,000 73,000

PRINCIPAL
AMOUNT
---------
CORPORATE BONDS
Hilton Hotels Corp., Sub. Deb. Cv.
5.00%, 05/15/06 ................. $ 30,000 $230,000

NET SALES
COMMON STOCKS
ACNielsen Corp. ................. (100,000) --
Albertson's Inc. ................ (65,100) 155,000
Allstate Corp. .................. (10,000) 100,000
ALLTEL Corp. .................... (30,000) 30,000
Amphenol Corp., Cl. A ........... (4,500) 125,000
AMR Corp. ....................... (1,000) 72,000
Block (H&R) Inc. ................ (65,000) 25,000
Cablevision Systems Corp., Cl. A (95,000) 420,000
Carter--Wallace Inc. ............ (5,000) 515,000
Coldwater Creek Inc. ............ (2,000) 14,000
Computer Associates International
Inc ........................... (25,000) 15,000
Credit Suisse Group ............. (6,000) --
Curtiss--Wright Corp. ........... (2,000) 98,000
DDI Corp. ....................... (89) --
Delphi Automotive Systems Corp. . (5,000) 70,000
Fortune Brands Inc. ............. (10,000) 90,000
France Growth Fund Inc. ......... (6,408) 18,592
General Mills Inc. .............. (25,000) 135,000
Genuine Parts Co. ............... (5,000) 195,000
Genuity Inc. .................... (10,000) 150,000

THE GABELLI EQUITY TRUST INC.
PORTFOLIO CHANGES (CONTINUED)
QUARTER ENDED MARCH 31, 2001
(UNAUDITED)

OWNERSHIP AT
MARCH 31,
SHARES 2001
------- ------------

NET SALES (CONTINUED)
COMMON STOCKS (CONTINUED)
Gray Communications Systems Inc. (4,500) 33,000
Hilton Hotels Corp. ............. (13,000) 550,000
Honeywell Inc. .................. (93,000) --
Ingersoll--Rand Co. ............. (30,000) 20,000
Keebler Foods Co. ............... (21,800) --
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. ... (42,000) --
MCN Energy Group Inc. ........... (70,000) 30,000
Meredith Corp. .................. (3,000) 125,000
Morgan (J.P.) & Co. Inc. (d) .... (13,000) --
National Service Industries Inc. (5,000) 125,000
Navistar International Corp. .... (10,000) 430,000
Neiman Marcus Group Inc., Cl. B . (30,000) 320,000
Nortek Inc. ..................... (6,000) 144,000
Obic Co. Ltd. ................... (800) 2,500
Pacific Century CyberWorks Ltd., ADR (20,000) 10,000
Pactiv Corp. .................... (15,000) 180,000
Pearson plc ..................... (25,000) 57,727
PepsiCo Inc. .................... (40,000) 280,000
Quaker Oats Co. ................. (25,000) 70,000
RAS SpA ......................... (50,000) 50,000
Rohm & Haas Co. ................. (20,000) 200,000
Ryder System Inc. ............... (15,000) 30,000
Schibsted ASA ................... (50,000) --
Sealed Air Corp. ................ (20,000) 5,000
Shaw Industries Inc. ............ (400,000) --
Societe Generale, Cl. A ......... (15,000) --
Sony Corp. ...................... (5,000) 11,000
St. Joseph Light & Power Co. (i) (15,000) --
Telecom Italia SpA, ADR ......... (1,000) 123,000
Time Warner Inc. (b) ............ (285,000) --
Tyco International Ltd. ......... (25,000) --
Tyler Technologies Inc. ......... (25,000) 35,000
Unilever NV, New York ........... (15,000) --
USA Networks Inc. ............... (25,000) 575,000
Verizon Communications .......... (20,000) 295,000
Viacom Inc., Cl. A .............. (20,000) 900,000
Vivendi Universal SA, ADR ....... (15,000) 205,000
Vodafone Group plc .............. (70,000) 553,888
Waste Management Inc. ........... (10,000) 350,000
Whitman Corp. (e) ............... (491,595) --

PREFERRED STOCKS
News Corp. Ltd., Pfd., ADR ...... (32,000) 10,000

------------------------------------

(a) Spinoff - 1 share of America Movil, SA de CV, ADR for every 1 share of
Telefonos de Mexico SA, Cl. L, ADR
(b) Merger - 1.5 shares of AOL Time Warner Inc. for every 1 share of Time Warner
Inc.
(c) Spinoff - 1 share of Compass Group plc for every 1 share of Granada Compass
plc
(d) Merger - 3.7 shares of Morgan (J.P.) Chase & Co. Inc. for every 1 share of
Morgan (J.P.) & Co. Inc.
(e) Merger - 1 share of PepsiAmericas Inc. for every 1 share of Whitman Corp.
(f) 0.75% stock dividend
(g) 2.00% stock dividend on (ex-date) 01/05/01 and 03/05/01
(h) 3.00% stock dividend
(i) Merger - 0.7933 shares of UtiliCorp United Inc. for every 1 share of St.
Joseph Light & Power Co.
(j) 2 for 1 stock split
(k) Rights Offering - 1 Rogers Wireless Communications Inc. Right issued for
every 1 share of Rogers Wireless Communications Inc., Cl. B

THE GABELLI EQUITY TRUST INC.
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS
MARCH 31, 2001 (UNAUDITED)

MARKET
SHARES VALUE
------ -----

COMMON STOCKS -- 86.0%
TELECOMMUNICATIONS -- 7.9%
8,132 Aliant Inc. .......................... $ 185,148
7,500 Allegiance Telecom Inc.+ ............. 110,625
30,000 ALLTEL Corp. ......................... 1,573,800
10,000 AT&T Canada Inc., Cl. B+ ............. 292,500
640,000 AT&T Corp. ........................... 13,632,000
3,333 Avaya Inc.+ .......................... 43,329
230,000 BCE Inc. ............................. 5,177,300
33,400 Brasil Telecom Participacoes SA, ADR . 1,307,610
25,000 BroadWing Inc.+ ...................... 478,750
2,893,090 Cable & Wireless Jamaica Ltd. ........ 120,091
95,000 Cable & Wireless plc ................. 641,547
145,000 Cable & Wireless plc, ADR ............ 2,987,000
60,000 CenturyTel Inc. ...................... 1,725,000
25,000 Citizens Communications Co. .......... 316,250
255,466 Commonwealth Telephone
Enterprises Inc.+ .................. 8,813,577
20,000 Commonwealth Telephone
Enterprises Inc., Cl. B+ ........... 695,000
35,000 Compania de Telecomunicaciones de
Chile SA, ADR ........................ 462,000
21,600 Elisa Communications Oyj, Cl. A ...... 294,065
167,000 Embratel Participacoes SA, ADR+ ...... 1,553,100
32 Japan Telecom Co. Ltd. ............... 571,996
10,000 Pacific Century CyberWorks Ltd., ADR+ 39,500
155,000 RCN Corp.+ ........................... 934,844
9,655 Rogers Communications Inc., Cl. B+ ... 143,483
110,345 Rogers Communications Inc.,
Cl. B, ADR+ ........................ 1,637,520
115,000 SBC Communications Inc. .............. 5,132,450
330,000 Sprint Corp.+ ........................ 7,256,700
186,554 Tele Norte Leste Participacoes SA, ADR 3,037,099
8,000 Telecom Argentina Stet France
Telecom SA, ADR .................... 124,800
400,040 Telecom Italia SpA ................... 4,031,592
123,000 Telecom Italia SpA, ADR .............. 12,287,700
265,250 Telefonica SA, ADR ................... 12,705,474
16,257 Telefonica SA, BDR+ .................. 251,401
36,000 Telefonos de Mexico SA, Cl. L, ADR ... 1,135,440
12,750 TELUS Corp. .......................... 278,144
52,500 TELUS Corp., ADR ..................... 1,145,298
4,250 TELUS Corp., Non-Voting .............. 84,212
27,500 TELUS Corp., Non-Voting, ADR ......... 554,675
295,000 Verizon Communications ............... 14,543,500
15,000 XO Communications Inc., Cl. A+ ....... 105,000
-----------
106,409,520
-----------
BROADCASTING -- 7.6%
50,000 Ackerley Group Inc. .................. 602,500
336,192 Chris-Craft Industries Inc.+ ......... 21,264,144

MARKET
SHARES VALUE
------ -----

592,897 Chris-Craft Industries Inc., Cl. B+ (a) $ 37,500,735
16,666 Corus Entertainment Inc., Cl. B+ ..... 391,621
33,000 Gray Communications Systems Inc. ..... 587,070
7,000 Gray Communications Systems Inc.,
Cl. B .............................. 113,400
138,000 Grupo Televisa SA, GDR+ .............. 4,610,580
200,000 Liberty Corp. ........................ 6,798,000
4,000 Nippon Broadcasting System Inc. ...... 136,296
50,375 NRJ Groupe+ .......................... 935,196
120,700 Paxson Communications Corp., Cl. A+ .. 1,176,825
17,700 RTL Group (New York) ................. 1,001,432
100,000 Television Broadcasting Ltd. ......... 546,226
245,009 United Television Inc. ............... 27,869,774
--------------
103,533,799
--------------
ENTERTAINMENT -- 7.3%
380,000 AOL Time Warner Inc.+ ................ 15,257,000
160,000 Canal Plus, ADR+ ..................... 109,200
150,000 Disney (Walt) Co. .................... 4,290,000
100,000 EMI Group plc, ADR ................... 1,281,670
25,000 Fox Entertainment Group Inc. ......... 490,000
50,000 GC Companies Inc.+ ................... 111,500
18,432 Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc.+ . 529,920
150,940 Granada Compass plc+ ................. 371,782
24,000 Liberty Livewire Corp., Cl. A+ ....... 83,625
1,550,000 Liberty Media Group, Cl. A+ .......... 21,700,000
145,000 Publishing & Broadcasting Ltd. ....... 690,292
10,000 Six Flags Inc. ....................... 193,500
575,000 USA Networks Inc.+ ................... 13,764,063
900,000 Viacom Inc., Cl. A+ .................. 40,050,000
--------------
98,922,552
--------------
CONSUMER PRODUCTS -- 6.4%
70,000 Altadis SA ........................... 866,352
515,000 Carter-Wallace Inc. .................. 12,828,650
43,000 Christian Dior SA .................... 1,528,139
45,000 Church & Dwight Co. Inc. ............. 977,850
1,100 Compagnie Financiere
Richemont AG, Cl. A ................ 2,484,936
35,000 Department 56 Inc.+ .................. 311,500
285,601 Energizer Holdings Inc.+ ............. 7,140,025
90,000 Fortune Brands Inc. .................. 3,096,000
250,000 Gallaher Group plc, ADR .............. 6,037,500
250,000 Gillette Co. ......................... 7,792,500
100,000 Harley Davidson Inc. ................. 3,795,000
15,000 Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. ...
Ltd., ADR .......................... 276,750
65,000 Mattel Inc. .......................... 1,153,100
25,000 Maytag Corp. ......................... 806,250
42,000 National Presto Industries Inc. ...... 1,257,900
10,500 Nintendo Co. Ltd. .................... 1,718,501

THE GABELLI EQUITY TRUST INC.
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS (CONTINUED)
MARCH 31, 2001 (UNAUDITED)

MARKET
SHARES VALUE
------ -----

COMMON STOCKS (CONTINUED)
CONSUMER PRODUCTS (CONTINUED)
20,000 Philip Morris Companies Inc. ......... $ 949,000
110,000 Procter & Gamble Co. ................. 6,886,000
800,000 Ralston Purina Group ................. 24,920,000
20,000 Shimano Inc. ......................... 306,586
1,500 Swatch Group AG ...................... 1,568,692
10,425 Syratech Corp.+ ...................... 71,672
--------------
86,772,903
--------------
FINANCIAL SERVICES -- 6.4%
26,000 Aegon NV ............................. 766,775
4,100 Allianz AG ........................... 1,197,908
100,000 Allstate Corp. ....................... 4,194,000
185,000 American Express Co. ................. 7,640,500
30,000 Argonaut Group Inc. .................. 476,250
175,000 Banca Intesa SpA ..................... 671,423
90,000 Banco Santander Central Hispano
SA, ADR ............................ 816,300
84,000 Bank of Ireland, Dublin .............. 698,775
15,000 Bank of Ireland, London .............. 125,709
56,000 Bank of Scotland ..................... 557,310
105,000 Bank One Corp. ....................... 3,798,900
282,000 Bankgesellschaft Berlin AG ........... 2,418,183
260 Berkshire Hathaway Inc., Cl. A+ ...... 17,017,000
25,000 Block (H&R) Inc. ..................... 1,251,500
50,000 Commerzbank AG, ADR .................. 1,396,770
150,000 Deutsche Bank AG, ADR ................ 11,470,320
15,000 Dun and Bradstreet Corp.+ ............ 353,400
125,000 First Union Corp. .................... 4,125,000
25,000 Hibernia Corp., Cl. A ................ 349,250
20,000 Invik & Co. AB, Cl. B ................ 1,182,271
100,000 Irish Life & Permanent plc, Dublin ... 1,096,200
64,000 Leucadia National Corp. .............. 2,058,880
60,000 Mellon Financial Corp. ............... 2,431,200
110,000 Midland Co. .......................... 3,492,500
30,000 Moody's Corp. ........................ 826,800
48,100 Morgan (J.P.) Chase & Co. ............ 2,159,690
116,500 Nikko Securities Co. Ltd. ............ 818,094
50,000 Prudential plc ....................... 534,918
50,000 RAS SpA .............................. 614,403
60,000 Riggs National Corp. ................. 952,500
40,000 State Street Corp. ................... 3,736,000
30,000 Stilwell Financial Inc.+ ............. 804,600
20,000 SunTrust Banks Inc. .................. 1,296,000
510 Swiss Re ............................. 1,031,252
38,000 T. Rowe Price Group Inc. ............. 1,189,875
50,000 Unitrin Inc. ......................... 1,818,750
30,000 Waddell & Reed Financial Inc., Cl. A . 850,500
--------------
86,219,706
--------------

MARKET
SHARES VALUE
------ -----

EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES -- 6.2%
100,000 AMETEK Inc. .......................... $ 2,760,000
125,000 Amphenol Corp., Cl. A+ ............... 3,937,500
10,000 Caterpillar Inc. ..................... 443,800
95,000 CIRCOR International Inc.+ ........... 1,406,000
107,000 CLARCOR Inc. ......................... 2,471,700
320,000 Deere & Co. .......................... 11,628,800
255,000 Donaldson Co. Inc. ................... 6,805,950
130,000 Flowserve Corp.+ ..................... 2,917,200
6,500 Franklin Electric Co. ................ 465,563
110,000 Gerber Scientific Inc. ............... 733,700
298,000 IDEX Corp. ........................... 8,636,040
20,000 Ingersoll-Rand Co. ................... 794,200
100,000 Litton Industries Inc.+ .............. 8,033,000
60,000 Lufkin Industries Inc. ............... 1,196,250
1,000 Manitowoc Co. Inc. ................... 24,800
430,000 Navistar International Corp.+ ........ 9,804,000
20,000 PACCAR Inc. .......................... 896,250
84,500 Sequa Corp., Cl. A+ .................. 3,295,500
75,000 Sequa Corp., Cl. B+ .................. 4,162,500
170,000 SPS Technologies Inc.+ ............... 7,660,200
10,000 Sybron Dental Specialties Inc.+ ...... 210,000
35,000 THK Co. Ltd. ......................... 795,990
70,000 UCAR International Inc.+ ............. 812,000
250,000 Watts Industries Inc., Cl. A ......... 4,175,000
100,000 Weir Group plc ....................... 357,560
--------------
84,423,503
--------------
FOOD AND BEVERAGE -- 4.9%
10,108 Advantica Restaurant Group Inc.+ ..... 9,160
1,000 Cadbury Schweppes plc, ADR ........... 26,200
15,000 Coca-Cola Co. ........................ 677,400
50,000 Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. ........... 889,000
150,940 Compass Group plc+ ................... 1,077,256
90,000 Corn Products International Inc. ..... 2,309,400
120,000 Diageo plc, ADR ...................... 4,854,000
135,000 General Mills Inc. ................... 5,806,350
20,000 Hain Celestial Group Inc.+ ........... 580,000
22,000 Heinz (H.J.) Co. ..................... 884,400
25,000 Interbrew SA+ ........................ 640,703
270,000 Kellogg Co. .......................... 7,298,100
60,500 LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis
Vuitton, ADR ....................... 608,781
650,000 Parmalat Finanziaria SpA ............. 919,394
491,595 PepsiAmericas Inc. ................... 7,668,882
280,000 PepsiCo Inc. ......................... 12,306,000
70,000 Quaker Oats Co. ...................... 6,860,000
60,000 Ralcorp Holdings Inc.+ ............... 1,074,000
100,831 Tootsie Roll Industries Inc. ......... 4,653,342
152,000 Wrigley (Wm.) Jr. Co. ................ 7,334,000
--------------
66,476,368
--------------

THE GABELLI EQUITY TRUST INC.
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS (CONTINUED)
MARCH 31, 2001 (UNAUDITED)

MARKET
SHARES VALUE
------ -----

COMMON STOCKS (CONTINUED)
WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS -- 4.9%
45,000 America Movil, SA de CV,
Cl. L, ADR+ ........................ $ 659,250
60,000 AT&T Wireless Group+ ................. 1,150,800
12,500 Leap Wireless International Inc.+ .... 350,781
100,000 Nextel Communications Inc., Cl. A+ ... 1,437,500
5,038 Powertel Inc.+ ....................... 277,063
73,000 Rogers Wireless Communications
Inc., Cl. B+ ....................... 956,300
220,000 Sprint Corp. (PCS Group)+ ............ 4,180,000
16,700 Tele Celular Sul Participacoes SA, ADR 297,260
55,666 Tele Centro Oeste Celular Participacoes
SA, ADR ............................ 450,338
3,340 Tele Leste Celular Participacoes
SA, ADR ............................ 121,576
8,350 Tele Nordeste Celular Participacoes
SA, ADR ............................ 224,615
3,340 Tele Norte Celular Participacoes
SA, ADR ............................ 93,520
1,200,000 Telecom Italia Mobile SpA ............ 8,104,811
8,350 Telemig Celular Participacoes SA, ADR 334,418
450,000 Telephone & Data Systems Inc. ........ 42,075,000
66,800 Telesp Celular Participacoes SA, ADR . 989,308
553,888 Vodafone Group plc ................... 1,519,813
100,000 Vodafone Group plc, ADR .............. 2,715,000
4,992 VoiceStream Wireless Corp.+ .......... 461,151
--------------
66,398,504
--------------
PUBLISHING -- 4.8%
11,000 Dow Jones & Co. Inc. ................. 575,850
150,000 Harcourt General Inc. ................ 8,350,500
646,000 Independent News & Media plc,
Dublin ............................. 1,456,267
97,000 McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. ........... 5,786,050
400,000 Media General Inc., Cl. A ............ 18,440,000
125,000 Meredith Corp. ....................... 4,363,750
115,000 New York Times Co., Cl. A ............ 4,711,550
145,000 News Corp. Ltd. ...................... 1,099,511
5,000 News Corp. Ltd., ADR ................. 157,000
57,727 Pearson plc .......................... 1,009,474
400,000 Penton Media Inc. .................... 5,820,000
50,000 PRIMEDIA Inc.+ ....................... 315,000
27,000 Pulitzer Inc. ........................ 1,495,800
160,000 Reader's Digest Association Inc., Cl .B 3,840,000
91,842 Seat-Pagine Gialle SpA ............... 110,339
400,000 South China Morning Post Holdings .... 287,217
75,000 Thomas Nelson Inc. ................... 485,250
160,000 Tribune Co. .......................... 6,518,400
--------------
64,821,958
--------------

MARKET
SHARES VALUE
------ -----

CABLE -- 3.3%
420,000 Cablevision Systems Corp., Cl. A+ .... $ 35,011,200
40,000 Comcast Corp., Cl. A ................. 1,647,500
90,000 Comcast Corp., Cl. A, Special ........ 3,774,375
42,625 NTL Inc.+ ............................ 1,072,019
20,000 Shaw Communications Inc., Cl. B ...... 385,497
80,000 Shaw Communications Inc., Cl. B,
Non-Voting+ ........................ 1,584,000
130,000 UnitedGlobalCom Inc., Cl. A+ ......... 1,706,250
--------------
45,180,841
--------------
ENERGY AND UTILITIES -- 3.2%
73,400 AGL Resources Inc. ................... 1,608,194
34,000 Apache Corp. ......................... 1,958,740
120,000 BP Amoco plc ......................... 992,922
248,800 BP Amoco plc, ADR .................... 12,345,456
130,000 Burlington Resources Inc. ............ 5,817,500
155,000 Conoco Inc., Cl. A ................... 4,355,500
400,000 El Paso Electric Co.+ ................ 5,840,000
20,000 Energy East Corp. .................... 347,000
55,000 Halliburton Co. ...................... 2,021,250
30,000 MCN Energy Group Inc. ................ 774,000
210,000 Niagara Mohawk Holdings Inc.+ ........ 3,549,000
100,000 NiSource Inc.+ ....................... 276,000
65,000 Northeast Utilities .................. 1,129,700
75,000 Pennzoil-Quaker State Co.+ ........... 1,050,000
100,000 Progress Energy Inc. ................. 44,500
3,000 SJW Corp. ............................ 239,250
14,000 Southwest Gas Corp. .................. 291,900
4,907 Total Fina Elf SA .................... 665,875
5,000 UtiliCorp United Inc. ................ 161,800
--------------
43,468,587
--------------
DIVERSIFIED INDUSTRIAL -- 2.5%
195,000 Ampco-Pittsburgh Corp. ............... 2,291,250
50,000 Cooper Industries Inc. ............... 1,672,500
270,000 Crane Co. ............................ 7,033,500
102,000 GATX Corp. ........................... 4,330,920
150,000 GenTek Inc. .......................... 1,950,000
142,500 ITT Industries Inc.+ ................. 5,521,875
390,000 Lamson & Sessions Co.+ ............... 2,854,800
125,000 National Service Industries Inc. ..... 2,931,250
78,715 Park-Ohio Holdings Corp.+ ............ 364,057
12,420 Smith Industries plc ................. 136,317
3,000 Sulzer AG ............................ 1,941,528
82,000 Swire Pacific Ltd., Cl. A ............ 507,836
75,000 Thomas Industries Inc. ............... 1,552,500
50,000 Trinity Industries Inc. .............. 975,000
--------------
34,063,333
--------------

THE GABELLI EQUITY TRUST INC.
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS (CONTINUED)
MARCH 31, 2001 (UNAUDITED)

MARKET
SHARES VALUE
------ -----

COMMON STOCKS (CONTINUED)
AUTOMOTIVE: PARTS AND ACCESSORIES -- 2.4%
20,000 ArvinMeritor Inc. .................... $ 274,600
25,802 Borg-Warner Automotive Inc. .......... 1,033,886
34,161 Dana Corp. ........................... 586,886
70,000 Delphi Automotive Systems Corp.+ ..... 991,900
260,000 GenCorp Inc. ......................... 2,761,200
195,000 Genuine Parts Co. .................... 5,052,450
117,000 Johnson Controls Inc. ................ 7,307,820
90,000 Midas Inc. ........................... 1,179,000
330,000 Modine Manufacturing Co. ............. 8,497,500
80,000 Scheib (Earl) Inc.+ .................. 200,000
163,000 Standard Motor Products Inc. ......... 1,727,800
70,000 Superior Industries International Inc. 2,419,900
105,000 TransPro Inc. ........................ 278,250
--------------
32,311,192
--------------
HEALTH CARE -- 2.0%
40,000 American Home Products Corp. ......... 2,350,000
60,000 Amgen Inc.+ .......................... 3,611,250
34,000 Apogent Technologies Inc.+ ........... 688,160
10,000 AstraZeneca plc, London .............. 477,695
35,146 AstraZeneca plc, Stockholm ........... 1,672,302
10,000 Aventis SA ........................... 777,065
26,000 Biogen Inc.+ ......................... 1,646,125
75,036 GlaxoSmithKline plc+ ................. 1,963,968
4,000 GlaxoSmithKline plc, ADR ............. 209,200
56,011 Invitrogen Corp.+ .................... 3,072,203
1,150 Novartis AG .......................... 1,804,995
108,000 Novartis AG, Registered .............. 4,247,640
45,000 Pfizer Inc. .......................... 1,842,750
140 Roche Holding AG ..................... 1,013,928
20,000 Sanofi-Synthelabo SA ................. 1,117,417
18,000 Takeda Chemical Industries Ltd. ...... 869,006
--------------
27,363,704
--------------
PAPER AND FOREST PRODUCTS -- 1.9%
260,000 Greif Bros. Corp., Cl. A ............. 7,312,500
3,400 Greif Bros. Corp., Cl. B ............. 91,481
180,000 Pactiv Corp.+ ........................ 2,179,800
5,000 Sealed Air Corp.+ .................... 166,650
253,000 St. Joe Co. .......................... 5,770,930
102,000 Westvaco Corp. ....................... 2,471,460
180,000 Willamette Industries Inc. ........... 8,280,000
--------------
26,272,821
--------------
HOTELS AND GAMING -- 1.7%
120,000 Aztar Corp.+ ......................... 1,273,200
90,000 Boca Resorts Inc., Cl. A+ ............ 1,044,000
234,500 Gaylord Entertainment Co. ............ 6,237,700
5,000 GTECH Holdings Corp.+ ................ 136,250

MARKET
SHARES VALUE
------ -----

1,045,000 Hilton Group plc ..................... $ 3,030,801
550,000 Hilton Hotels Corp. .................. 5,747,500
20,000 MGM Mirage Inc.+ ..................... 502,000
430,000 Park Place Entertainment Corp.+ ...... 4,407,500
--------------
22,378,951
--------------
BUSINESS SERVICES -- 1.6%
60,000 ANC Rental Corp.+ .................... 180,000
200,000 Cendant Corp.+ ....................... 2,918,000
1,000 CheckFree Corp.+ ..................... 29,437
100,000 Landauer Inc. ........................ 2,089,000
58,500 Nashua Corp.+ ........................ 257,400
10,833 Reuters Holdings plc, ADR ............ 809,767
13,000 Secom Co. Ltd. ....................... 736,540
250,000 Securicor Group plc .................. 548,247
1,000 Sodexho Marriott Services Inc. ....... 29,050
3,500 SYNAVANT Inc.+ ....................... 15,750
30,900 Vivendi Universal SA ................. 1,880,748
205,000 Vivendi Universal SA, ADR ............ 12,433,250
--------------
21,927,189
--------------
RETAIL -- 1.4%
155,000 Albertson's Inc. ..................... 4,932,100
286,000 AutoNation Inc.+ ..................... 2,574,000
14,000 Coldwater Creek Inc.+ ................ 314,160
45,000 Delhaize America Inc., Cl. A ......... 920,250
100,000 Lillian Vernon Corp. ................. 730,000
320,000 Neiman Marcus Group Inc., Cl. B+ ..... 9,664,000
--------------
19,134,510
--------------
SPECIALTY CHEMICALS -- 1.2%
5,400 Ciba Specialty Chemicals, ADR+ (b) ... 159,560
10,000 du Pont de Nemours (E.I.) & Co. ...... 407,000
315,000 Ferro Corp. .......................... 6,403,950
12,000 Fuller (H.B.) Co. .................... 505,500
130,000 General Chemical Group Inc. .......... 104,000
70,000 Hercules Inc.+ ....................... 909,300
210,000 Omnova Solutions Inc. ................ 1,394,400
200,000 Rohm & Haas Co. ...................... 6,162,000
11,697 Syngenta AG, ADR+ .................... 121,649
--------------
16,167,359
--------------
AGRICULTURE -- 1.0%
1,000,000 Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. ........... 13,150,000
5,000 Delta & Pine Land Co. ................ 120,500
--------------
13,270,500
--------------
REAL ESTATE -- 0.9%
450,000 Catellus Development Corp.+ .......... 7,087,500
75,000 Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd. .......... 786,162
44,000 Florida East Coast Industries Inc.,
Cl. A .............................. 1,478,400

THE GABELLI EQUITY TRUST INC.
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS (CONTINUED)
MARCH 31, 2001 (UNAUDITED)

MARKET
SHARES VALUE
------ -----

COMMON STOCKS (CONTINUED)
REAL ESTATE (CONTINUED)
58,451 Florida East Coast Industries Inc.,
Cl. B .............................. $ 1,791,523
55,000 Griffin Land & Nurseries Inc.+ ....... 1,017,500
4,753 HomeFed Corp.+ ....................... 4,099
--------------
12,165,184
--------------
ELECTRONICS -- 0.8%
38,000 Fujitsu Ltd. ......................... 506,401
3,000 Hitachi Ltd., ADR .................... 261,750
9,000 Molex Inc., Cl. A .................... 250,313
1,500 NEC Corp., ADR ....................... 119,063
26,640 Philips Electronics NV ............... 732,425
38,800 Philips Electronics NV, ADR .......... 1,035,960
5,100 Rohm Co. Ltd. ........................ 854,642
11,000 Sony Corp. ........................... 781,228
34,000 Sony Corp., ADR ...................... 2,456,500
72,000 Stanley Electric Co. Ltd. ............ 545,822
200,000 Thomas & Betts Corp. ................. 3,472,000
--------------
11,016,104
--------------
AEROSPACE -- 0.8%
125,000 BAE Systems plc ...................... 558,021
100,000 Lockheed Martin Corp. ................ 3,565,000
75,000 Northrop Grumman Corp. ............... 6,525,000
--------------
10,648,021
--------------
CONSUMER SERVICES -- 0.7%
40,000 Loewen Group Inc. .................... 3,200
510,000 Rollins Inc. ......................... 9,843,000
--------------
9,846,200
--------------
ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES -- 0.7%
60,000 Republic Services Inc.+ .............. 1,125,000
350,000 Waste Management Inc. ................ 8,645,000
--------------
9,770,000
--------------
COMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT -- 0.6%
68,000 Acterna Corp.+ ....................... 408,000
290,000 Allen Telecom Inc.+ .................. 3,741,000
30,000 Corning Inc. ......................... 620,700
70,000 Lucent Technologies Inc. ............. 697,900
50,000 Motorola Inc. ........................ 713,000
27,000 Nokia Corp., Cl. A, ADR .............. 648,000
44,000 Scientific-Atlanta Inc. .............. 1,829,960
--------------
8,658,560
--------------

MARKET
SHARES VALUE
------ -----

AUTOMOTIVE -- 0.6%
10,000 Ford Motor Co. ....................... $ 281,200
157,942 General Motors Corp. ................. 8,189,293
--------------
8,470,493
--------------
AVIATION: PARTS AND SERVICES -- 0.5%
98,000 Curtiss-Wright Corp. ................. 4,728,500
110,000 Fairchild Corp., Cl. A+ .............. 541,200
44,000 Precision Castparts Corp. ............ 1,454,200
--------------
6,723,900
--------------
BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION -- 0.5%
112,500 CRH plc .............................. 1,730,494
32,222 Huttig Building Products Inc.+ ....... 134,366
15,000 Martin Marietta Materials Inc. ....... 640,500
144,000 Nortek Inc.+ ......................... 3,938,400
5,000 Nortek Inc., Special Common+ (a) ..... 136,750
--------------
6,580,510
--------------
SATELLITE -- 0.3%
180,323 General Motors Corp., Cl. H+ ......... 3,516,299
340,000 Liberty Satellite &
Technology Inc., Cl. A+ ............ 573,750
160,000 Loral Space & Communications Ltd+ .... 350,400
--------------
4,440,449
--------------
TRANSPORTATION -- 0.3%
72,000 AMR Corp.+ ........................... 2,528,640
7,500 Kansas City Southern Industries Inc. . 106,500
31,273 MIF Ltd.+ ............................ 394,826
30,000 Ryder System Inc. .................... 539,700
--------------
3,569,666
--------------
CLOSED END FUNDS -- 0.2%
59,000 Central European Equity Fund Inc. .... 664,340
70,000 Dresdner RCM Europe Fund Inc. ........ 640,500
18,592 France Growth Fund Inc. .............. 163,981
40,250 Italy Fund Inc. ...................... 382,375
68,000 New Germany Fund Inc. ................ 492,320
45,942 Royce Value Trust Inc. ............... 645,485
--------------
2,989,001
--------------
METALS AND MINING -- 0.2%
72,500 Harmony Gold Mining Co. Ltd. ......... 349,386
12,500 Harmony Gold Mining Co. Ltd., ADR .... 60,156
105,000 Newmont Mining Corp. ................. 1,692,600
50,000 Placer Dome Inc. ..................... 432,500
--------------
2,534,642
--------------

THE GABELLI EQUITY TRUST INC.
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS (CONTINUED)
MARCH 31, 2001 (UNAUDITED)

MARKET
SHARES VALUE
------ -----

COMMON STOCKS (CONTINUED)
COMPUTER SOFTWARE AND SERVICES -- 0.2%
20,000 Capcom Co. Ltd. ...................... $ 571,357
15,000 Computer Associates International Inc. 408,000
10,000 EMC Corp.+ ........................... 294,000
150,000 Genuity Inc.+ ........................ 323,438
2,500 Obic Co. Ltd. ........................ 461,834
35,000 Tyler Technologies Inc. .............. 66,500
--------------
2,125,129
--------------
COMPUTER HARDWARE -- 0.1%
44,000 Hewlett-Packard Co. .................. 1,375,880
15,000 Xerox Corp. .......................... 89,850
--------------
1,465,730
--------------
EDUCATIONAL SERVICES -- 0.0%
10,000 Benesse Corp. ........................ 363,083
--------------
TOTAL COMMON STOCKS .................. 1,166,884,472
--------------

PREFERRED STOCKS -- 0.1%
TELECOMMUNICATIONS -- 0.1%
15,000 Citizens Communications Co.,
5.00% Cv. Pfd. ..................... 820,275
--------------
BROADCASTING -- 0.0%
40,000 ProSieben Sat.1 Media AG, Pfd. ....... 707,226
--------------
PUBLISHING -- 0.0%
10,000 News Corp. Ltd., Pfd., ADR ........... 267,000
--------------
WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS -- 0.0%
10,760,547 Telesp Celular Participacoes SA, Pfd.+ 63,017
--------------
TOTAL PREFERRED STOCKS ............... 1,857,518
--------------

PRINCIPAL
AMOUNT
---------

CORPORATE BONDS -- 0.1%
AUTOMOTIVE: PARTS AND ACCESSORIES -- 0.1%
$1,500,000 Standard Motor Products Inc.,
Sub. Deb. Cv.
6.75%, 07/15/09 .................... 885,000
--------------
AVIATION: PARTS AND SERVICES -- 0.0%
1,000,000 Kaman Corp., Sub. Deb. Cv.
6.00%, 03/15/12 .................... 861,250
--------------
PUBLISHING -- 0.0%
200,000 News America Holdings Inc.,
Sub. Deb. Cv.
Zero Coupon, 03/31/02 .............. 275,500
--------------
HOTELS AND GAMING -- 0.0%
$ 230,000 Hilton Hotels Corp., Sub. Deb. Cv.
5.00%, 05/15/06 .................... $ 198,663
--------------
CONSUMER PRODUCTS -- 0.0%
1,000,000 Pillowtex Corp., Sub. Deb. Cv.
6.00%, 03/15/12+ ................... 313
--------------
TOTAL CORPORATE BONDS ................ 2,220,726
--------------
SHARES
------

WARRANTS -- 0.0%
FOOD AND BEVERAGE -- 0.0%
62,463 Advantica Restaurant Group Inc.,
expire 01/07/05+ ................... 1,249
--------------

RIGHTS -- 0.0%
WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS -- 0.0%
73,000 Rogers Wireless Communications Inc.+ . 2,190
--------------

PRINCIPAL
AMOUNT
---------

U.S. GOVERNMENT OBLIGATIONS -- 10.7%
$145,300,000 U.S. Treasury Bills,
4.75% to 5.47%++,
due 04/05/01 to 05/24/01 (c) ....... 144,759,795
--------------

REPURCHASE AGREEMENT -- 3.3%
44,742,000 Agreement with State Street Bank &
Trust Co., 5.27%, dated 03/30/01,
due 04/02/01, proceeds at maturity
$44,761,649 (d) .................... 44,742,000
--------------

TOTAL INVESTMENTS -- 100.2%
(Cost $939,695,346) ............................. 1,360,467,950

OTHER ASSETS, LIABILITIES AND
LIQUIDATION VALUE OF CUMULATIVE
PREFERRED STOCK -- (10.1)% ...................... (137,585,491)
--------------

NET ASSETS -- COMMON STOCK -- 90.1%
(126,803,143 common shares outstanding) ......... 1,222,882,459
--------------

NET ASSETS -- PREFERRED STOCK -- 9.9%
(5,368,900 preferred shares outstanding) ........ 134,222,500
--------------

TOTAL NET ASSETS -- 100.0% ........................ $1,357,104,959
==============

NET ASSET VALUE PER COMMON SHARE
($1,222,882,459 / 126,803,143 shares outstanding) $9.64
=====

THE GABELLI EQUITY TRUST INC.
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS (CONTINUED)
MARCH 31, 2001 (UNAUDITED)

PRINCIPAL SETTLEMENT UNREALIZED
AMOUNT DATE APPRECIATION
--------- ---------- ------------
FORWARD FOREIGN EXCHANGE CONTRACTS
$6,627,723 (e) Deliver Hong Kong Dollars
in exchange for
USD 851,441 .........08/03/01 $ 4,586
============

NUMBER OF
CONTRACTS
---------

FUTURES CONTRACTS -- SHORT POSITION
200 S&P 500 Index Futures
06/14/01 ......................... $ 795,445
============
--------------------
For Federal tax purposes:
Aggregate cost ............................ $939,695,346
============
Gross unrealized appreciation ............. $463,628,115
Gross unrealized depreciation ............. (42,855,511)
------------
Net unrealized appreciation ............... $420,772,604
============

--------------------
(a) Security fair valued under procedures established by the Board of
Directors.
(b) Security exempt from registration under Rule 144A of the Securities Act of
1933, as amended. These securities may be resold in transactions exempt
from registration, normally to qualified institutional buyers. At March
31, 2001, the market value of Rule 144A securities amounted to $159,560 or
0.0% of total net assets.
(c) At March 31, 2001, $6,500,000 of the principal amount was pledged as
collateral for futures contracts.
(d) Collateralized by U.S. Treasury Bond, 8.50%, due 02/15/20, market value
$45,643,487.
(e) Principal amount denoted in Hong Kong Dollars.
+ Non-income producing security.
++ Represents annualized yield at date of purchase.
ADR - American Depositary Receipt BDR - Brazilian Depositary Receipt
USD - United States Dollars
GDR - Global Depositary Receipt

% OF MARKET MARKET
VALUE VALUE
----------- --------------

GEOGRAPHIC DIVERSIFICATION
United States ................ 85.3% $1,161,123,720
Europe ....................... 11.0 149,577,895
Asia/Pacific Rim ............. 1.5 20,095,184
Latin America ................ 1.1 15,584,021
Canada ....................... 1.0 13,253,588
South Africa ................. 0.1 833,542
----- --------------
Total Investments ............ 100.0% $1,360,467,950
===== ==============

AUTOMATIC DIVIDEND REINVESTMENT
AND VOLUNTARY CASH PURCHASE PLAN

ENROLLMENT IN THE PLAN

It is the policy of The Gabelli Equity Trust Inc. ("Equity Trust") to
automatically reinvest dividends. As a "registered" shareholder you
automatically become a participant in the Equity Trust's Automatic Dividend
Reinvestment Plan (the "Plan"). The Plan authorizes the Equity Trust to issue
shares to participants upon an income dividend or a capital gains distribution
regardless of whether the shares are trading at a discount or a premium to net
asset value. All distributions to shareholders whose shares are registered in
their own names will be automatically reinvested pursuant to the Plan in
additional shares of the Equity Trust. Plan participants may send their stock
certificates to State Street Bank and Trust Company ("State Street") to be held
in their dividend reinvestment account. Registered shareholders wishing to
receive their distribution in cash must submit this request in writing to:

The Gabelli Equity Trust Inc.
c/o State Street Bank and Trust Company
P.O. Box 8200
Boston, MA 02266-8200

Shareholders requesting this cash election must include the shareholder's
name and address as they appear on the share certificate. Shareholders with
additional questions regarding the Plan may contact State Street at 1 (800)
336-6983.

SHAREHOLDERS WISHING TO LIQUIDATE REINVESTED SHARES held at State Street Bank
must do so in writing or by telephone. Please submit your request to the above
mentioned address or telephone number. Include in your request your name,
address and account number. The cost to liquidate shares is $2.50 per
transaction as well as the brokerage commission incurred. Brokerage charges are
expected to be less than the usual brokerage charge for such transactions.

If your shares are held in the name of a broker, bank or nominee, you should
contact such institution. If such institution is not participating in the Plan,
your account will be credited with a cash dividend. In order to participate in
the Plan through such institution, it may be necessary for you to have your
shares taken out of "street name" and re-registered in your own name. Once
registered in your own name your dividends will be automatically reinvested.
Certain brokers participate in the Plan. Shareholders holding shares in "street
name" at participating institutions will have dividends automatically
reinvested. Shareholders wishing a cash dividend at such institution must
contact their broker to make this change.

The number of shares of Common Stock distributed to participants in the Plan
in lieu of cash dividends is determined in the following manner. Under the Plan,
whenever the market price of the Equity Trust's Common Stock is equal to or
exceeds net asset value at the time shares are valued for purposes of
determining the number of shares equivalent to the cash dividends or capital
gains distribution, participants are issued shares of Common Stock valued at the
greater of (i) the net asset value as most recently determined or (ii) 95% of
the then current market price of the Equity Trust's Common Stock. The valuation
date is the dividend or distribution payment date or, if that date is not a New
York Stock Exchange trading day, the next trading day. If the net asset value of
the Common Stock at the time of valuation exceeds the market price of the Common
Stock, participants will receive shares from the Equity Trust valued at market
price. If the Equity Trust should declare a dividend or capital gains
distribution payable only in cash, State Street will buy Common Stock in the
open market, or on the New York Stock Exchange or elsewhere, for the
participants' accounts, except that State Street will endeavor to terminate
purchases in the open market and cause the Equity Trust to issue shares at net
asset value if, following the commencement of such purchases, the market value
of the Common Stock exceeds the then current net asset value.

The automatic reinvestment of dividends and capital gains distributions will
not relieve participants of any income tax which may be payable on such
distributions. A participant in the Plan will be treated for Federal income tax
purposes as having received, on a dividend payment date, a dividend or
distribution in an amount equal to the cash the participant could have received
instead of shares.

The Equity Trust reserves the right to amend or terminate the Plan as applied
to any voluntary cash payments made and any dividend or distribution paid
subsequent to written notice of the change sent to the members of the Plan at
least 90 days before the record date for such dividend or distribution. The Plan
also may be amended or terminated by State Street on at least 90 days' written
notice to participants in the Plan.

VOLUNTARY CASH PURCHASE PLAN

The Voluntary Cash Purchase Plan is yet another vehicle for our shareholders
to increase their investment in the Equity Trust. In order to participate in the
Voluntary Cash Purchase Plan, shareholders must have their shares registered in
their own name.

Participants in the Voluntary Cash Purchase Plan have the option of making
additional cash payments to State Street for investments in the Equity Trust's
shares at the then current market price. Shareholders may send an amount from
$250 to $10,000. State Street will use these funds to purchase shares in the
open market on or about the 15th of each month. State Street will charge each
shareholder who participates $0.75, plus a pro rata share of the brokerage
commissions. Brokerage charges for such purchases are expected to be less than
the usual brokerage charge for such transactions. It is suggested that any
voluntary cash payments be sent to State Street Bank and Trust Company, P.O. Box
8200, Boston, MA 02266-8200 such that State Street receives such payments
approximately 10 days before the 15th of the month. Funds not received at least
five days before the investment date shall be held for investment in the
following month. A payment may be withdrawn without charge if notice is received
by State Street at least 48 hours before such payment is to be invested.

For more information regarding the Dividend Reinvestment Plan and Voluntary
Cash Purchase Plan, brochures are available by calling (914) 921-5070 or by
writing directly to the Equity Trust.

THE GABELLI EQUITY TRUST INC.
AND YOUR PERSONAL PRIVACY

WHO ARE WE?

The Gabelli Equity Trust (the "Trust") is a closed-end investment company
registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Investment
Company Act of 1940. We are managed by Gabelli Funds LLC, which is
affiliated with Gabelli Asset Management Inc. Gabelli Asset Management is a
publicly-held company that has subsidiaries that provide investment
advisory or brokerage services for a variety of clients.

WHAT KIND OF NON-PUBLIC INFORMATION DO WE COLLECT ABOUT YOU IF YOU BECOME A
GABELLI CUSTOMER?

When you purchase shares of the Trust on the New York Stock Exchange, you
have the option of registering directly with our transfer agent in order,
for example, to participate in our dividend reinvestment plan.

o INFORMATION YOU GIVE US ON YOUR APPLICATION FORM. This could include your
name, address, telephone number, social security number, bank account
number, and other information.

o INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR TRANSACTIONS WITH US. This would include
information about the shares that you buy or sell, it may also include
information about whether you sell or exercise rights that we have issued
from time to time. If we hire someone else to provide services--like a
transfer agent--we will also have information about the transactions that
you conduct through them.

WHAT INFORMATION DO WE DISCLOSE AND TO WHOM DO WE DISCLOSE IT?

We do not disclose any non-public personal information about our customers
or former customers to anyone, other than our affiliates, our service
providers who need to know such information and as otherwise permitted by
law. If you want to find out what the law permits, you can read the privacy
rules adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission. They are in volume
17 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 248. The Commission often posts
information about its regulations on its web site, WWW.SEC.GOV.

WHAT DO WE DO TO PROTECT YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION?

We restrict access to non-public personal information about you to the
people who need to know that information in order to perform their jobs or
provide services to you and to ensure that we are complying with the laws
governing the securities business. We maintain physical, electronic, and
procedural safeguards to keep your personal information confidential.

DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS

THE GABELLI EQUITY TRUST INC.
ONE CORPORATE CENTER, RYE, NY 10580-1434

DIRECTORS

Mario J. Gabelli, CFA
CHAIRMAN & CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER,
GABELLI ASSET MANAGEMENT INC.

Dr. Thomas E. Bratter
PRESIDENT, JOHN DEWEY ACADEMY

Felix J. Christiana
FORMER SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT,
DOLLAR DRY DOCK SAVINGS BANK

Anthony J. Colavita
ATTORNEY-AT-LAW,
ANTHONY J. COLAVITA, P.C.

James P. Conn
FORMER MANAGING DIRECTOR AND CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER,
FINANCIAL SECURITY ASSURANCE HOLDINGS LTD.

Frank J. Fahrenkopf, Jr.
PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER,
AMERICAN GAMING ASSOCIATION

Karl Otto Pohl
FORMER PRESIDENT, DEUTSCHE BUNDESBANK

Anthony R. Pustorino
CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT
PROFESSOR, PACE UNIVERSITY

Salvatore J. Zizza
CHAIRMAN, THE BETHLEHEM CORP.

OFFICERS

Mario J. Gabelli, CFA
PRESIDENT & CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER

Bruce N. Alpert
VICE PRESIDENT & TREASURER

Carter W. Austin
VICE PRESIDENT

James E. McKee
SECRETARY

INVESTMENT ADVISOR

Gabelli Funds, LLC
One Corporate Center
Rye, New York 10580-1434

CUSTODIAN

Boston Safe Deposit and Trust Company

COUNSEL

Willkie Farr & Gallagher

TRANSFER AGENT AND REGISTRAR

State Street Bank and Trust Company

STOCK EXCHANGE LISTING

COMMON 7.25% PREFERRED
------ ---------------
NYSE-Symbol: GAB GAB Pr
Shares Outstanding: 126,803,143 5,368,900

The Net Asset Value appears in the Publicly Traded Funds column, under the
heading "General Equity Funds," in Sunday's The New York Times and in Monday's
The Wall Street Journal. It is also listed in Barron's Mutual Funds/Closed End
Funds section under the heading "General Equity Funds".

The Net Asset Value may be obtained each day by calling (914) 921-5071.

For general information about the Gabelli Funds,
call 1-800-GABELLI (1-800-422-3554), fax us at
914-921-5118, visit Gabelli Funds' Internet
homepage at: HTTP://WWW.GABELLI.COM
or e-mail us at: closedend@gabelli.com

Notice is hereby given in accordance with Section 23(c) of the Investment
Company Act of 1940, as amended, that the Equity Trust may, from time to time,
purchase shares of its common stock in the open market when the Equity Trust
shares are trading at a discount of 10% or more from the net asset value of the
shares. The Equity Trust may also, from time to time, purchase shares of its
Cumulative Preferred Stock in the open market when the shares are trading at a
discount to the Liquidation Value of $25.00.

THE GABELLI EQUITY TRUST INC.
ONE CORPORATE CENTER
RYE, NY 10580-1434
(914) 921-5070
HTTP://WWW.GABELLI.COM

FIRST QUARTER REPORT
MARCH 31, 2001

GBFCM 03/01