Move Over, Coca-Cola: Warren Buffett's Successor, Greg Abel, Has a New No. 3 Holding at Berkshire Hathaway

Berkshire Hathaway's incoming CEO Greg Abel has reshuffled the conglomerate's portfolio, executing a $10 billion private placement in Alphabet (GOOGL) that vaults the tech giant into the No. 3 position, leapfrogging Coca-Cola (KO), a core Berkshire holding for decades. The transaction marks a strategic pivot for Berkshire under Abel's influence, directing capital toward AI and cloud infrastructure rather than the consumer staples that defined Warren Buffett's tenure.

The $10 billion commitment represents one of Berkshire's largest single investments and signals Abel's conviction in Alphabet's positioning in artificial intelligence development and Google Cloud expansion. Coca-Cola's displacement from the third slot ends an era; the beverage company has been a Berkshire cornerstone since Buffett began accumulating shares in 1988.

The private placement structure suggests negotiated terms potentially more favorable than open-market purchases at scale. Abel, who formally assumes the CEO role upon Buffett's retirement, is already imprinting his investment philosophy on the $300 billion-plus equity portfolio.