Warren Buffett personally initiated Berkshire’s $30B Alphabet stake, signaling he’s still calling the shots

Warren Buffett stepped back from his role as Berkshire Hathaway’s chairman at the end of 2025. Then he went and bought $30 billion worth of Alphabet. Buffett confirmed the investment publicly during a CNBC interview on July 15, 2026, making clear he personally initiated the trade. Greg Abel has nominally taken the operational reins at Berkshire, but this move signals that Buffett’s strategic fingerprints are still all over the portfolio. How the position was built Berkshire’s Alphabet stake didn’t arrive overnight. The conglomerate first disclosed a position at the end of September 2025, then expanded it through open-market purchases over the following quarters. The most significant single move came in June 2026: a $10 billion private placement, with the proceeds earmarked for Alphabet’s AI infrastructure buildout. Participating in a private placement means Berkshire negotiated directly with Alphabet’s management and took on a different risk profile than an ordinary share purchase. By mid-July 2026, the combined position had grown to somewhere between $28 billion and $31 billion. Buffett confirmed the approximate $30 billion figure on air. Alphabet shares rose nearly 4% on the day ...