Warren Buffett wants to set the record straight about who pulled the trigger on Berkshire Hathaway’s sizable bet on Alphabet. In an interview with CNBC’s Becky Quick, the 95-year-old chairman said it was his own idea to build the position that has become one of the conglomerate’s largest technology holdings. “I initiated it,” Buffett said, offering his first public comments on how the company came to own such a big piece of the Google parent. He was quick to clarify that the move had the full backing of Greg Abel, who officially took over as CEO at the start of this year after Buffett announced his plans to step down last May. “He is the decider,” Buffett said of Abel, while noting the two stay in close contact and share mutual approval of each other’s decisions.
Berkshire first revealed its stake in Alphabet during the third quarter of 2025 and has been adding to the position since then. Earlier this year, the conglomerate also chipped into a $10 billion private placement by Alphabet aimed at funding its artificial intelligence infrastructure buildout. Despite the size of the holding, Buffett admitted during the interview that he “made a mistake” by not getting behind the company years earlier. It is a familiar refrain for him — back in 2018, he said he watched Google’s advertising business thrive through Geico, which was an early customer, but could never quite convince himself that Google would come out on top in a fast-changing tech landscape.
Even now, with billions committed, Buffett tempered his enthusiasm somewhat, saying Alphabet does not rank among his very favorite companies inside the Berkshire portfolio. “I would say that I don’t like it as well as at least four or five other businesses that we own,” he told Quick. A central concern weighing on his view is the staggering amount of capital pouring into artificial intelligence across the industry — money that Alphabet and its rivals are now forced to spend just to keep pace. “They’re all laying out hundreds of billions, and that’s real money,” Buffett said. “That’s the game they’re playing now.” That capital intensity stands in sharp contrast to earlier eras when software companies could scale without anything approaching today’s financial commitments.
On Apple, which remains Berkshire’s largest equity stake, Buffett struck a more confident tone despite news that Tim Cook is planning to step aside as chief executive. He credited Apple with assembling deep bench strength around the globe and suggested the company has positioned itself well for whatever comes next. As for what separates great investments from merely good ones over time, Buffett returned to a principle he has preached throughout his career: finding businesses capable of earning high returns on capital over long stretches and having the patience to hold them.