Warren Buffett, turning 96, is ‘still in the game’: The Omaha Oracle may be making more investment decisions for Berkshire than you think

After six decades at the helm, Warren Buffett handed the reins of Berkshire Hathaway to longtime lieutenant Greg Abel at the end of last year. But for the Oracle of Omaha, stepping down as CEO apparently doesn’t mean sitting on the sidelines, especially when it comes to deciding where Berkshire puts its money.

Buffett, who remains Berkshire’s chairman, still appears to have considerable influence over the conglomerate’s roughly $300 billion U.S. stock portfolio. That influence is particularly notable now, as Berkshire begins putting some of its enormous cash pile back to work.

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Berkshire’s latest portfolio disclosures show that it boosted its stake in Google parent Alphabet by 83% during the second quarter, bringing its holdings to nearly 106 million shares worth roughly $38 billion as of June 30. That makes Alphabet Berkshire’s third-largest U.S. stock holding, behind only Apple and American Express.

Coming just months after Abel took over as CEO, the growing Alphabet stake might have looked like an early sign of Berkshire’s new chief putting his stamp on its investment portfolio. Except Buffett said it was his call.

In a July CNBC interview, Buffett said he initiated Berkshire’s investment in Alphabet, dispelling speculation that the position originated with Abel.

Alphabet wasn’t the only sign that Berkshire was opening its wallet again.

The company bought $23.5 billion worth of stocks during the second quarter while selling just $3.7 billion, reversing a 14-quarter streak in which it sold more stocks than it bought.

That long stretch of selling helped Berkshire amass a record $397.4 billion in cash and short-term investments by the end of March. As CEO, Buffett had repeatedly struggled to find attractive places to put that money.

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Buffett’s complicated relationship with tech

Buffett’s enthusiasm for Alphabet is notable for another reason: He has historically shied away from technology stocks. Berkshire didn’t invest in Alphabet until the third quarter of 2025, long after Google had come to dominate online search and digital advertising and become a major player in cloud computing.

He still isn’t necessarily sold on all aspects of the company’s strategy. Buffett told CNBC that Alphabet is “putting out huge amounts of money” on AI infrastructure, a technology he has viewed with some caution. In 2023, he acknowledged that AI could do “amazing things,” but warned that once such a powerful technology is developed, “we won’t be able to un-invent it.”

Still, Buffett appears to like Alphabet’s odds. While he said the company isn’t among his four or five favorite Berkshire businesses, he believes it has a better chance of being a winner than 90% to 95% of the companies pitched to investors on Wall Street.

Buffett may have been late to Alphabet, but the investment has paid off so far. Alphabet shares have climbed more than 43% since the end of the third quarter of 2025, when Berkshire first invested in the company, according to Yahoo Finance data.

The timing makes the investment particularly interesting. Investors are watching closely to see how Berkshire’s strategy evolves under Abel, yet one of its biggest recent moves was initiated by his predecessor.

That doesn’t mean Buffett still has the final say. In his 2025 shareholder letter, Abel said responsibility for Berkshire’s stock investments ultimately rests with him as CEO. Buffett echoed that sentiment, saying the two regularly discuss investments but acknowledging that Abel is now “the decider.”

For now, Berkshire’s changing of the guard looks less like a clean break from Buffett and more like a gradual handoff, with its longtime leader still helping to shape some of the company’s biggest moves.

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