Warren Buffett said Wednesday that he personally initiated Berkshire Hathaway’s investment in Alphabet, pushing back on any suggestion that new CEO Greg Abel was behind the trade. “I initiated it,” Buffett told CNBC’s Becky Quick. “I am not doing anything that he doesn’t approve…
He’s not doing anything I don’t approve of
We talk all the time, but he is the decider.” Berkshire’s initial disclosure of an Alphabet stake came in the third quarter of 2025, and the position has continued to grow since then, according to CNBC. Earlier this year, Berkshire also joined a $10 billion private placement by Alphabet, with the proceeds earmarked for the company’s artificial intelligence infrastructure build-out. Despite holding the position, Buffett offered a measured assessment of Alphabet’s appeal relative to other Berkshire holdings. “I would say that I don’t like it as well as at least four or five other businesses that we own,” he said.
His stated rationale for owning the stock centered on Berkshire’s broader investment philosophy. “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,” he said. Buffett identified the massive and open-ended spending demands of the AI race as a central concern for Alphabet and the other companies caught up in it. “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,” he said. “That’s the game they’re playing now. They weren’t playing that game with computer software.” The remarks come as Berkshire navigates a leadership transition.