Berkshire shows its dedication to old-school industries in Buffett's biggest deal since 2016

Not the continental-breakfast variety... Buffett just added a lot to his plate. Warren Buffett's legendary holding company, Berkshire Hathaway, owns businesses like Geico, Duracell, and Dairy Queen, and has major investments in blue-chip companies like Coca-Cola, Apple, and Amex (hence: "holding"). Now the 91-year-old billionaire is doing his biggest deal in six years:

• Double down: Berkshire agreed to buy insurance conglomerate Alleghany for $11.6B in cash. Insurance = a Berkshire bread-and-butter industry that generates a fifth of its profits.
• Double up: Alleghany stock jumped 25% yesterday as Berkshire offered Alleghany shareholders a sweet premium to buy their stock.

A Cherry Coke a day... Even with a $120B net worth, Buffett's famous for his modest lifestyle. Think: still living in the Omaha house he bought in the ’50s, having Coke and McMuffins for breakfast, and donating most of his $$ instead of splurging. He’s been conservative with investments too:

• Berkshire hasn’t made a big acquisition since 2016, opting to hoard its nearly $150B cash pile and invest in companies it already holds. In his popular shareholder letter last month, Buffett complained that nothing looked attractive.
• Despite its conservative approach, Berkshire has beat the overall market when compared against the S&P 500. Last week its Class A stock surpassed $500K/share (not a typo), and has hit a new high on the Allegheny deal.