Buffett names longtime lieutenant Greg Abel as CEO, ushering in a carefully planned succession at the $870 billion firm.
By AB Wire
In a moment that stunned shareholders and marked the end of a storied chapter in American business, Warren Buffett, the 94-year-old Oracle of Omaha, announced Saturday that he will step down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway by the end of this year.
Buffett made the surprise declaration at the conclusion of Berkshire’s annual shareholder meeting, following a five-hour Q&A session with investors. “I think the time has arrived where Greg should become the chief executive officer of the company at year end,” Buffett said, referring to Greg Abel, the longtime vice chairman who oversees all of Berkshire’s noninsurance businesses and has been widely regarded as Buffett’s heir apparent.
Though Abel’s name has been floated for years as Buffett’s successor, many assumed that transition would not come until after Buffett’s passing. In fact, Buffett himself had consistently brushed aside any talk of retirement, frequently reiterating that he had no intention of stepping away as long as he remained healthy and mentally sharp.
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Saturday’s announcement, therefore, came as a genuine surprise — even to Abel, who sat beside Buffett on stage and appeared visibly stunned.
Buffett revealed that only two people on Berkshire’s board — his children, Howard and Susie Buffett — had advance notice of his decision. “Nobody else knew,” he said.
Buffett’s decision to retire is the end of an extraordinary era not only for Berkshire Hathaway, but also for the global investing world. Over the course of six decades, Omahan transformed Berkshire from a struggling textile mill into a trillion-dollar conglomerate with stakes in companies ranging from Apple and Coca-Cola to GEICO and BNSF Railway.
In 2024, Berkshire generated $369 billion in revenue and held $1.1 trillion in assets.
Known for his homespun wisdom, dry wit, and unshakable faith in long-term value investing, Buffett has become one of the most admired and influential figures in American business history. His annual shareholder letters are required reading for investors around the world, and the Berkshire shareholder meeting in Omaha — often dubbed “Woodstock for Capitalists” — has drawn tens of thousands each year.
Central to Buffett’s investment philosophy is buying great companies at fair prices and holding them indefinitely. It stood in stark contrast to the speculative mania that has periodically gripped Wall Street. “Our favorite holding period is forever,” he once famously wrote.
Through calm and crisis alike, Buffett preached patience, discipline, and the virtues of compounding. His legacy includes not just towering investment returns, but also a philosophy of capitalism that prioritizes integrity, humility, and stewardship.
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Under Buffett’s leadership, Berkshire’s Class A shares have skyrocketed from around $19 in 1965 to more than $620,000 today, a staggering return that has made Buffett one of the richest individuals in the world, with a net worth exceeding $160 billion. (On Saturday, at 4:30 PM ET, his net worth was $168.2 billion, according to Forbes.)
Yet Buffett remained famously frugal.
He lived in the same Omaha home he bought in 1958 for $31,500, drove modest cars for much of his life, and reportedly favored McDonald’s breakfasts and Cherry Coke. Despite his wealth, Buffett often warned against material excess, choosing instead to give away the vast majority of his fortune through philanthropic initiatives.
In 2006, Buffett pledged to donate more than 99% of his wealth, primarily through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and several foundations run by his children. To date, he has donated tens of billions of dollars.
Buffett’s commitment to philanthropy extended to the broader business community. Along with Bill Gates, he co-founded The Giving Pledge, a movement that encourages billionaires to commit at least half their wealth to charitable causes. The pledge has since attracted more than 200 signatories worldwide.
While Buffett’s retirement represents the end of an era, his successor is no stranger to Berkshire’s inner workings. Greg Abel, 61, has served as vice chairman of noninsurance operations since 2018 and previously led Berkshire Hathaway Energy, where he earned a reputation as a thoughtful and disciplined operator.
Abel is widely respected inside and outside the company for his business acumen and understated leadership style, qualities that mirror Buffett’s own approach. Many believe Abel’s quiet competence and intimate understanding of Berkshire’s decentralized model make him uniquely suited to lead the company into its next chapter.
Buffett himself has repeatedly expressed confidence in Abel, once saying, “Greg understands capital allocation as well as I do.”
Still, Abel will step into a role that no one can truly replicate. Buffett’s mix of charisma, credibility, and command over Berkshire’s sprawling operations is unlikely to be duplicated. What Abel can bring, however, is continuity: of culture, of values, and of strategic discipline.
As Buffett prepares to leave the stage, he does so with a company that reflects his principles and vision. Berkshire Hathaway is structured to endure, with a deep bench of managers, a fortress balance sheet, and a portfolio of high-quality businesses.
Buffett’s exit will undoubtedly mark a transition, but not a departure from the ethos he spent a lifetime building. Investors, employees, and admirers can take comfort in knowing that the next generation is being handed the reins with careful consideration and Buffett’s blessing.
Warren Buffett may be retiring from the CEO seat, but his influence will remain deeply embedded in the DNA of Berkshire Hathaway, and in the wider world of investing, for generations to come.