Abel Boosts Alphabet Stake Amid Shake-Up at Berkshire Hathaway

Greg Abel has wasted no time in shaking up Berkshire's $358 billion investment portfolio after taking over as CEO following Warren Buffett's retirement on Dec. 31.

In the first quarter, Abel reduced six holdings and sent 16 others to the chopping block, including Amazon, which was a significant holding for Berkshire.

However, during this same period, Abel also significantly increased his stake in Alphabet, Google's parent company, with Berkshire's investment growing from $5.59 billion to $36.37 billion between Dec. 31 and Sept. 25.

The reason for the Amazon sale is not entirely clear, but it may have been due to profit-taking or a change in Abel's strategy following Todd Combs' departure in December for JPMorgan Chase.