Warren Buffett said, “Not so.” Berkshire Hathaway‘s new CEO, Greg Abel, was the driving force behind the conglomerate’s recent major investment. alphabet.
“I started it,” Buffett said in an interview with CNBC’s Becky Quick, explaining publicly for the first time how the conglomerate came to make Alphabet one of the largest technology holdings.
“I haven’t done anything that he wouldn’t approve of, and he hasn’t done anything that I wouldn’t approve of,” Berkshire’s chairman said, referring to his successor, CEO Abel. “We’re always talking, but he’s the one making the decisions.”
Berkshire first revealed its stake in Alphabet in the third quarter of 2025 and has expanded its holdings ever since. Earlier this year, the company also participated in a $10 billion private placement by Alphabet to fund the company’s artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Buffett announced his resignation last May and formally handed over the reins to Abel earlier this year.
Buffett said, “The trick in life is to find and invest in companies that are likely to give you a high return on capital over the long term.”
Buffett admitted in an interview that he “made a mistake” in not investing in Alphabet sooner. He has long expressed regret at missing out on the company’s early rise, saying in 2018 that despite seeing the success of Google’s advertising business through early customer Geico, he was unsure whether the company could ultimately emerge as a long-term winner in the rapidly evolving technology industry.
Buffett, 95, noted that although he owns a huge stake in Alphabet, it’s not a company he really likes, which is owned by Berkshire.
“I don’t think we like it, as well as at least four or five other businesses that we own,” he said.
Buffett also pointed to the huge capital commitments required to compete in AI as a key issue facing tech giants and their rivals.
“Google and its competitors have a real problem right now, because they’ve all invested hundreds of billions of dollars, and that’s real money,” Buffett said. “That’s the game they’re playing now. They weren’t playing that game using computer software.”
Buffett talks about Apple
The legendary investor said: appleBerkshire’s largest holding remains one of Tim Cook’s favorite stocks, even after news that he would step down as CEO.
“I know more about Apple than I did in years,” Buffett said.
“If you’re Apple, you’ve got some very, very smart people all over the world looking and researching ways to make sure that the future of Apple is as bright as the past.”
