Topline
Larry Page’s fortune swelled above $300 billion on Wednesday following a rise in Alphabet shares, after Warren Buffett took credit for Berkshire Hathaway’s multibillion-dollar investment in the Google parent, which has more than quadrupled over the last year.
Berkshire Hathaway disclosed its first investment in the Google parent last year.
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Key Facts
Shares of Alphabet jumped 3.9% to around $373 as of Wednesday afternoon, extending a nearly 2% rise from Tuesday.
That boost in Alphabet’s stock price added $8 billion to Page’s net worth, valued at $301.7 billion, and $7.3 billion to fellow Google cofounder Sergey Brin’s net worth, estimated at $278.2 billion.
An uptick in Alphabet shares follows Buffett’s comments in a CNBC interview Tuesday morning, during which Buffett said he “initiated” Berkshire Hathaway’s first bet in Alphabet last year and admitted he “made a mistake” by not investing in the company earlier.
Buffett, 95, pointed to the growing competition Alphabet faces in the AI market and said even though Berkshire Hathaway’s Alphabet stake has grown, Apple remained one of his favorite stocks and that its “future is as bright as the past” (Apple shares rose 4% by Wednesday afternoon).
how much has berkshire hathaway invested in alphabet?
Berkshire Hathaway disclosed the purchase of just over 17.8 million Alphabet shares in November, valued at $4.3 billion at the time. The investment firm expanded its bet earlier this year, adding 36.4 million more of Alphabet’s Class A shares and 3.6 million Class C shares, bringing its total holdings to about 58 million shares. That investment is now worth roughly $21 billion, but Alphabet also announced last month that Berkshire agreed to purchase $10 billion of newly issued stock to help fund Alphabet’s AI infrastructure expansion.
forbes valuation
Buffett, who served as Berkshire Hathaway’s CEO before stepping down after 2025, is the 10th-richest person in the world with a fortune valued at $139.1 billion, according to Forbes’ estimates. Page and Brin rank the second- and third-wealthiest people in the world, respectively, behind Elon Musk, whose net worth exceeds $866 billion.
key background
Alphabet shares have outpaced the Nasdaq so far this year, rising just under 18% compared to the tech-heavy index’s 12% growth. The Google parent, like its megacap competitors, has accelerated spending to match booming demand for AI products over the last year. The firm reported annual revenue above $400 billion for the first time, citing “strong momentum” for its Google Services and Google Cloud products, including a 48% surge in cloud revenue. Spending is expected to hit as high as $185 billion for fiscal year 2026, Alphabet said, as growing demand for AI required $105 billion in capital expenditures the previous year.