Berkshire Hathaway Lands Quiet Stake in SpaceX Through Alphabet

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has quietly gained an indirect economic interest in Elon Musk's SpaceX through its position in Alphabet, Google's parent company. The math behind this investment is straightforward: Berkshire owns about 0.9% of Alphabet, a stake valued at approximately $38 billion as of June 30, 2026. Alphabet, in turn, holds around 4% of SpaceX, a stake valued at roughly $94 billion.

This means that Berkshire's indirect exposure to SpaceX is about 0.04%, initially worth around $815 million before recent share price movements trimmed it to approximately $700 million.

The investment is not the result of a deliberate decision by Buffett or his team, but rather a consequence of two separate choices: Alphabet's 2015 investment in SpaceX alongside Fidelity and Berkshire's subsequent accumulation of a significant position in Alphabet. By mid-2026, Berkshire had expanded its Alphabet stake by 83%, making it the company's third-largest equity holding after Apple and American Express.

This development is significant not only because of the size of the investment but also because it shows how Buffett's philosophy on avoiding IPOs can be sidestepped through a clever use of portfolio math. Berkshire never participated in SpaceX's IPO, which took place on June 12, 2026, and thus avoided the potential pitfalls associated with initial public offerings.

The significance of this investment lies not only in its size but also in its implications for investors. The expansion of Alphabet's stake by Berkshire signals strong conviction in the standalone value proposition of the tech giant, while the indirect exposure to SpaceX adds a different kind of signal, that of a massive return on investment for Alphabet, which has gained roughly 100 times its original $900 million investment made in 2015.