--- title: "Warren Buffett Told CNBC 'I Initiated It' About Berkshire's Alphabet Bet, and New Reporting Says He's Still Calling the Shots on Stocks. Here's What That Means for Reading Greg Abel's Tenure." type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/298235549.md" description: "Warren Buffett, now President of Berkshire Hathaway's board, initiated the recent Alphabet stock purchase, indicating he remains active in investment decisions. Meanwhile, CEO Greg Abel focuses on operational matters, such as the Taylor Morrison Home acquisition. This division suggests a shift toward a traditional insurance company model, where management runs operations while a specialized team handles investments." datetime: "2026-09-07T22:46:44.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/298235549.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/298235549.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/298235549.md) generator: "portal-rs" --- # Warren Buffett Told CNBC 'I Initiated It' About Berkshire's Alphabet Bet, and New Reporting Says He's Still Calling the Shots on Stocks. Here's What That Means for Reading Greg Abel's Tenure. **Berkshire Hathaway** (BRKA -0.48%)(BRKB -0.41%) is a Wall Street icon because of Warren Buffett's long and successful history of buying stocks. His success earned him the nickname "the Oracle of Omaha," and Berkshire Hathaway was basically a way to invest alongside the famous investor. The company's story changed in 2026, when Greg Abel took over as CEO, and Buffett initiating Berkshire Hathaway's recent purchase of **Alphabet** (GOOG -1.05%) shares hints at a new model for the company. ## Buffett isn't gone, he's just in a new job Warren Buffett stepped down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway at the end of 2025, handing the reins to hand-picked successor Greg Abel. But Buffett didn't really retire; he shifted to the position of president of the board. So he is still Abel's boss and available to help out as needed. Given that Buffett initiated the company's large recent purchase of Alphabet stock, it looks like he's still calling the shots when it comes to investing. ![Warren Buffett speaking into microphones.](https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://g.foolcdn.com/image//query-b3A9cmVzaXplJnVybD1odHRwczovL2cuZm9vbGNkbi5jb20vZWRpdG9yaWFsL2ltYWdlcy84ODUwNTEvMjVfMDNfMTItd2FycmVuLWJ1ZmZldHQtc3BlYWtpbmctaW50by1taWNyb3Bob25lcy1fbWYtZGxvYWQtc291cmNlLW1vdGxleS1mb29sLWJ1ZmZldHQyMS10bWYucG5nJnc9Mzg0MA?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg) Image source: The Motley Fool. But the Oracle of Omaha isn't making all of the decisions, noting that Greg Abel was the one who made the call on Berkshire's acquisition of Taylor Morrison Home. The difference is that Taylor Morrison Home was a strategic move that Abel hopes will allow Berkshire Hathaway to integrate its homebuilding-related businesses into one operation. That's more of an operational decision, while the purchase of Alphabet shares was an investment decision. ## At its core, Berkshire Hathaway is an insurance company What's notable about these two decisions is that Abel is focused on running the business, while someone else is focused on investing. Someone else happens to be Wall Street icon Warren Buffett, but it could actually be anyone. Or, eventually, an entire team of people. That is how most insurance companies operate. Management focuses on running the business, and a specialized investment team runs the investment portfolio. At its core, Berkshire Hathaway is an insurance company. Expand ![Berkshire Hathaway Stock Quote](https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://g.foolcdn.com/image//query-b3A9cmVzaXplJnVybD1odHRwczovL2cuZm9vbGNkbi5jb20vYXJ0L2NvbXBhbnlsb2dvcy9tYXJrL0JSS0IucG5nJnc9MTI4?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg) ## NYSE: BRKB Berkshire Hathaway Today's Change (-0.41%) $-2.10 Current Price $506.03 ### Key Data Points Market Cap $1.1TMarket cap calculated using publicly traded shares outstanding only. Does not include unlisted, private, or dual-class non-traded shares. Implied market cap may vary. Day's Range $504.30 - $507.50 52wk Range $464.01 - $537.74 Volume 3.3M Avg Vol 4.6M Gross Margin 23.52% In fact, that was Buffett's real genius. He realized he could use the float (the premiums the company holds onto while waiting to pay out claims) to invest more aggressively in stocks than most insurers do. Along the way, he created a massive conglomerate. Abel seems to be focusing on running the conglomerate while letting someone else handle the investing side. Since Buffett was a hands-off manager as CEO, focusing most of his effort on investing, there could be a significant opportunity for Abel to improve the company's operating businesses. In other words, the split taking shape between what Abel and Buffett are doing could be an important indication of Berkshire Hathaway's future direction. And it would leave the company operating more like a traditional insurance company, which probably wouldn't be a bad outcome. ### Related Stocks - [TMHC.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/TMHC.US.md) - [GOOGL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GOOGL.US.md) - [BRK.B.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/BRK.B.US.md) - [GOOG.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GOOG.US.md) - [BRK.A.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/BRK.A.US.md) - [GGLL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GGLL.US.md) - [BRKU.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/BRKU.US.md) - [GOOW.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GOOW.US.md) - [GGLS.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GGLS.US.md) - [BRKD.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/BRKD.US.md) - [GOOY.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GOOY.US.md) - [GOU.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GOU.US.md) - [GOOX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GOOX.US.md) - [GOOP.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GOOP.US.md) - [MAGX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/MAGX.US.md) - [BRKC.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/BRKC.US.md) - [BRKW.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/BRKW.US.md) - [07777.HK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/07777.HK.md) ## Related News & Research - [Berkshire just revealed its playbook for AI’s next bottleneck](https://longbridge.com/en/news/297894696.md) - [Berkshire Hathaway CEO Sees Alphabet as Key Participant in AI Sector After USD17B Stake Increase in 2Q](https://longbridge.com/en/news/297844672.md) - [Warren Buffett's Giveaway Plan Implies $17 Billion of Berkshire Stock a Year. Greg Abel Bought Back $4.5 Billion Last Quarter.](https://longbridge.com/en/news/297788867.md) - [Berkshire CEO Greg Abel discusses Japan, Google and AI, housing, consumers](https://longbridge.com/en/news/297773097.md) - [Greg Abel Just Gave Investors $4.5 Billion Reasons to Take a Closer Look at Berkshire Hathaway](https://longbridge.com/en/news/297536396.md) --- > **Disclaimer: This article is for reference only and does not constitute any investment advice.**