Berkshire Hathaway CEO Greg Abel Is Loading Up on This Stock in His Personal Accounts

The new leader of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRKA)(NYSE: BRKB) is bullish on the company -- and the stock.

While the financial media earlier this month focused primarily on the news that the sprawling conglomerate has finally resumed repurchasing its own stock, there was another crucial detail in the recent update from Berkshire Hathaway CEO Greg Abel. It is a detail that arguably speaks even louder than the company's corporate buybacks.

Abel is aggressively buying Berkshire stock for his own personal accounts.

In a massive vote of confidence, he announced that he will be investing his entire after-tax salary in Berkshire Hathaway stock for every year he serves as the company's chief executive officer.

When executives buy shares of their own company on the open market, it usually sends a strong signal to investors. But committing an entire after-tax salary to the stock takes that alignment of incentives to a whole new level. It tells shareholders that the person calling the shots is highly motivated to protect and grow the company's underlying value.

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A multi-million-dollar personal bet

After taking over as CEO from Warren Buffett at the beginning of 2026, Abel's annual cash salary increased to $25 million. But rather than pocketing that substantial paycheck, Abel is using the post-tax proceeds to build his stake in the conglomerate.

In early March, a regulatory filing confirmed that Abel purchased 21 Class A shares at about $730,000 each. The total transaction amounted to about $15.3 million -- representing his entire after-tax salary. This purchase brought his total holdings to 249 Class A shares, valued at roughly $182 million at the time.

So, why is Abel making such a concentrated personal bet? It boils down to a deep conviction in the assets he is now managing and a goal to be as aligned with shareholders as possible.

"As CEO, I absolutely, obviously, believe in Berkshire, with the transition from Warren, and I inherited a company that has an incredible foundation," Abel explained during a recent interview.

He continued, emphasizing the long-term runway still ahead for the business: "I believe in its future, the opportunities that exist there".

This wasn't a one-time gesture, either. Abel plans to make this a recurring annual event for as long as he leads the company.

"I'm committed to doing this every year going forward," he said. "We'll file our 10-K, I'll write the letter. And after the 48-hour cooling-off period, I'll purchase $15.3 million next year".

Corporate buybacks return

Abel's massive personal purchase coincided with another major development for Berkshire Hathaway shareholders: the return of corporate share repurchases.

On March 4, the company officially commenced repurchasing its own shares under its long-standing buyback policy. It marks the first repurchases of Berkshire shares since May 2024.

This combination of corporate share repurchases and heavy insider buying provides a clear signal to investors: Greg thinks Berkshire stock is a good long-term bet at its current price.

A closer look at the company's valuation shows why the math likely makes sense to leadership. Berkshire's price-to-book value currently sits at roughly 1.5. For a business with Berkshire's sprawling collection of high-quality assets, this multiple arguably leaves room for upside -- especially with repurchases resuming.

Built for an uncertain environment

Beyond the share repurchases and Abel's personal conviction, the underlying business remains a financial fortress.

Berkshire generated $44.5 billion in operating earnings for the full year of 2025. Even more impressively, the company ended the year sitting on a staggering cash reserve of more than $373 billion -- a huge sum for a company with a market capitalization of about $1.06 trillion at the time of this writing.

This massive cash position allows the conglomerate to easily weather economic storms and act opportunistically when the broader market panics.

All of this makes Berkshire Hathaway an excellent, resilient business to own -- especially right now. In a market environment marked by rapidly evolving artificial intelligence (AI) narratives and macroeconomic uncertainty, owning a business built for durability makes sense.

If you are looking for a rock-solid stock to anchor your portfolio during an uncertain period, I think following Abel's lead makes sense. While no stock is without risks, Berkshire's diversified, cash-rich business certainly has less risk than most -- and it has significant optionality if it deploys its excess capital effectively in the coming years.

Daniel Sparks and his clients have positions in Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.