Berkshire Puts $16.8B to Work Under New CEO Abel
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- Berkshire Hathaway committed $16.8 billion over two days: $10 billion in Alphabet via private placement and $6.8 billion to acquire Taylor Morrison Home Corp, the first major bets under new CEO Greg Abel
- Greg Abel, who succeeded Warren Buffett as CEO in January 2026, is deploying capital after his predecessor let Berkshire's cash hoard balloon to $380.2 billion as of March 31
- Berkshire's shares are down 13% from their May 2025 record high while the S&P 500 has risen 34% in the same period, a 47-percentage-point gap investors attribute to the cash drag
- The Alphabet investment, part of an $80 billion equity fundraising by the Google parent, would lift it into Berkshire's top five common stock holdings and reverses Buffett's long-standing tech reluctance
- Taylor Morrison, which operates in 12 U.S. states, extends Berkshire's housing footprint beyond Clayton Homes to include brick, paint, insulation, and one of the largest U.S. residential real estate brokerages
- Check Capital Management's Steven Check, whose firm holds $700 million in Berkshire stock and options, said 'Everyone has been waiting for Greg to do his thing, beyond Warren Buffett's shadow, and we're now seeing that'
Why it matters: Abel is breaking from Buffett's cash-hoarding stance—shares lag the S&P 500 by 47 percentage points (down 13% vs. up 34%)—by deploying $16.8 billion into Alphabet and Taylor Morrison. With $380 billion still in cash and a $30 billion cushion pledge, the two-day burst barely dents the mountain, but it shows Abel is no longer sitting on the sidelines as investors press for buybacks or a first dividend since 1967.
