Warren Buffett said he personally initiated Berkshire Hathaway’s $31 billion investment in Alphabet, marking one of the legendary investor’s most significant bets on big tech in his career. In an interview with CNBC on July 15, Buffett clarified that the decision was his own, not that of his successor, CEO Greg Abel, though both executives coordinate closely on major moves.
Berkshire first disclosed a stake in Alphabet during the third quarter of 2025, when it purchased about 17.8 million shares valued at roughly $4.3 billion. The conglomerate has since expanded the holding dramatically, including a $10 billion private placement earlier this year to help fund Alphabet’s artificial intelligence infrastructure buildout.
The investment has made Alphabet Berkshire’s third-largest public equity holding, trailing only Apple and Bank of America. For a company that has historically avoided big tech, the move signals Buffett’s confidence in Alphabet as a long-term winner in the AI arms race.
Buffett acknowledged in the CNBC interview that he made a mistake by not investing in Alphabet sooner. “I made a mistake,” he said, adding that he believes Alphabet is “more likely to be a winner based on their record than probably 90% or 95% of what gets merchandised through Wall Street.” The Oracle of Omaha has long expressed regret over missing the company’s early rise, noting in 2018 that despite witnessing Google’s advertising success 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.
Despite the large stake, Buffett was candid about his reservations. He said he doesn’t like Alphabet as much as four or five other businesses Berkshire owns, and he pointed to the enormous capital commitments required to compete in AI as a key concern 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.”
Buffett also emphasized that he and Abel maintain a collaborative relationship despite the formal transfer of leadership. “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,” Buffett said, referring to his CEO successor.
The investment reflects Buffett’s evolution as an investor. For decades, he avoided technology stocks, characterizing them as unpredictable. Apple, which remains Berkshire’s largest holding at over $60 billion, represents a rare exception—Buffett has previously characterized it as a consumer company rather than a pure tech play. The Alphabet bet suggests Buffett now sees the company’s digital advertising dominance and AI capabilities as fitting his criteria for businesses that earn high returns on capital over extended periods.
Sources
- CNBC — Warren Buffett’s confirmation that he initiated the Berkshire investment in Alphabet, the timeline of the stake (Q3 2025 disclosure, $10 billion private placement in 2026), and his comments on AI capital spending and his regret over not investing sooner.
- Business Insider — Buffett’s statement that he made the call for Berkshire to invest billions in Alphabet, his regret about the timing, his assessment of Alphabet’s likelihood to win in the AI race, and the stake’s current value of approximately $31 billion.
- Financial Times and Yahoo Finance — Confirmation that Alphabet is now Berkshire’s third-largest public equity holding.
