Warren Buffett’s Final Investment: The Oracle Ends His Career Where He Started

Warren Buffett built the greatest investment record in modern history. Now, as Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK-A) transitions to Greg Abel, the Oracle of Omaha’s final investment appears to be one his earliest mentor, Benjamin Graham, would have approved: The New York Times Company (NYSE:NYT).

What does this reveal about Buffett’s enduring philosophy? He bet on human storytelling when everyone else chased semiconductors.

The Final Investment

According to reports from The Telegraph, Buffett’s final significant investment was The New York Times. The Times has executed a remarkable digital transformation, growing to 12.8 million digital subscribers by adding 1.4 million net new subscribers in 2025.

The investment thesis fits Buffett’s lens precisely. The Times possesses an irreplaceable brand moat with 175 years of history, digital subscription revenues growing 14% annually, and gross margins stabilized around 48%, demonstrating the pricing power he has always prized in media.

NYT has also diversified intelligently. Wordle became a cultural phenomenon. The Athletic acquisition brought the world’s largest sports journalism operation into the fold. Cooking offers 25,000+ vetted recipes. This is a portfolio of habit-forming content products anchoring daily routines for millions.

Buffett’s Media Legacy

Buffett has always understood media. His Washington Post investment became legendary. He owned the Buffalo News outright. His philosophy centered on dominant media with pricing power and irreplaceable community connections. But he also sold many media holdings as digital disruption destroyed traditional business models.

What makes NYT different? It successfully navigated the transition that killed most newspapers. The company generated $344 million in net income in 2025, up from $100 million in 2020, a 243% increase while transforming from print to digital. Quality journalism, packaged correctly for digital consumption, commands premium pricing.

Berkshire now owns about 5.065 million shares in the NY Times, that’s worth about $376 million today. That’s about 3% of the company. While it makes Berkshire one of the Times’ largest holders, it’s also still a rounding error relative to Berkshire’s $274 billion stock portfolio.

The Greg Abel Transition

Berkshire formally transitioned to Greg Abel on January 1, 2026, ending Buffett’s 60-year tenure that delivered a 6.1 million percent cumulative return. Abel inherits a portfolio holding a record $381.6 billion in cash. Recent moves signal change: Berkshire increased its Alphabet stake by $4 billion in Q3 2025, trimmed Apple holdings, and a potential Kraft Heinz divestiture looms.

In Berkshire’s just released Q4 13F, the company divested 9% of Bank of America, 4% more of Apple, and 77% of its Amazon holding. Buys beyond the New York Times included adding to Chevron and Chubb Limited.

The NYT investment may be Buffett’s final personal stamp before Abel implements his own strategy, a reminder of what Buffett values: brands, recurring revenue, content moats, and businesses that compound through intellectual property rather than physical assets.

What It Tells Us

In a world obsessed with AI and semiconductor infrastructure, Buffett bought a newspaper. Consider that NYT’s digital advertising revenues grew 25% in Q4 2025 while generating $551 million in free cash flow for the year. The business works.

Buffett’s career began with undervalued newspapers and ends with perhaps the world’s most valuable news brand. His final lesson, as observers interpret it: in a world of infinite technological change, brands people trust and content people love have historically demonstrated durability as businesses.