Warren Buffett's successor puts record $400 billion cash pile to work. What's he buying?

Greg Abel, who took over as Berkshire Hathaway CEO on January 1, 2026, is deploying the conglomerate's record cash pile of nearly $400 billion. Recent major moves include a $10 billion private placement in Alphabet, an $8.5 billion acquisition of US homebuilder Taylor Morrison Home, and a $9.5 billion purchase of Occidental Petroleum's chemicals business in January. Analysts are also flagging concerns about massive AI-related bond issuance by hyperscalers, with Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, and Alphabet collectively issuing $144 billion in bonds so far in 2026 compared to $83 billion in all of 2025.