Berkshire adds $17 billion to Alphabet stake

JUST IN: Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway adds roughly $17 billion to its Alphabet stake, making $GOOGL its third-largest equity holding behind Apple and American Express.

Berkshire just poured seventeen billion dollars into Google's parent company. Alphabet is now the third biggest holding in the whole Berkshire portfolio, behind only Apple and American Express, and just ahead of Coca-Cola. That's the drink Warren Buffett has been sipping on stage for forty years, and Google just leapfrogged it.

The detail I love, about ten billion of it came straight from Alphabet itself in a private placement back in June. The rest, roughly seven billion, bought quietly on the open market. Berkshire now holds almost 106 million shares worth about thirty six and a half billion dollars.

And while the tech bet grows, the banks keep shrinking. Bank of America cut again, Capital One slashed by more than half. This is the Greg Abel era taking shape, and not everyone's cheering. Michael Burry, the Big Short guy, says his biggest fear was a successor without Buffett's patience, and he now believes that fear has come true. His words, Berkshire is no longer an attractive investment.

The most famous cash pile in finance is finally being spent. The argument now is whether that's the point, or the problem.

This is Sara White, reporting for HIT.

Source Read the original reporting at cnbc.com