Warren Buffett said he — not Berkshire Hathaway‘s new CEO, Greg Abel — was the driving force behind the conglomerate’s recent big investment in Alphabet.
«I initiated it,» Buffett said in an interview with CNBC’s Becky Quick, offering his first public explanation of how the conglomerate came to make Alphabet one of its largest technology holdings.
«I am not doing anything that he doesn’t approve of. He’s not doing anything I don’t approve of. We talk all the time, but he is the decider,» the Berkshire chairman added, referring to his CEO successor, Abel.
Berkshire first disclosed a stake in Alphabet during the third quarter of 2025 and has since expanded the holding. Earlier this year, the conglomerate also participated in a $10 billion private placement by Alphabet to help fund the company’s artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Buffett announced he would be stepping down in May of last year and formally handed the reins to Abel at the start of this year.
«The trick in life is to find — I mean investing — is to find businesses that are going to earn high returns on capital for an extended period of time,» Buffett said.
Buffett acknowledged in the interview that he «made a mistake» by not investing in Alphabet sooner. He has long expressed regret over missing the company’s early rise, saying in 2018 that despite witnessing the success of Google’s advertising business through Geico, an early customer, he wasn’t confident the company would ultimately emerge as the long-term winner in the rapidly evolving technology industry.
Buffett on Apple
Buffett, 95, noted while being a sizable holding, Alphabet wasn’t among his very favorite businesses owned by Berkshire.
«I would say that I don’t like it as well as at least four or five other businesses that we own,» he said.
Buffett also pointed to the enormous capital commitments required to compete in AI as a key issue facing the tech giant and its rivals.
«The real question with Google and all of its competitors now, because they’re all laying out hundreds of billions, and that’s real money,» Buffett said. «That’s the game they’re playing now. They weren’t playing that game with computer software.»
The legendary investor said Apple, Berkshire’s largest equity holding, remains one of his favorite stocks even after news that Tim Cook is stepping down as CEO.
«I know more about Apple than I knew many years ago,» Buffett said. «If you’re Apple, you’ve got very, very smart people all over the world shooting and trying to figure out how to make sure that, that Apple’s future, the future is as bright as the past.»
