Warren Buffett Steps Down as Berkshire Chairman; Son Howard Succeeds Him

Warren Buffett, the “Oracle of Omaha,” has stepped down as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway after leading the company for more than six decades. His eldest son, Howard Buffett, will serve as board chairman, while Chief Executive Officer Greg Abel takes charge of running the company under Berkshire’s succession plan.

Berkshire Hathaway said on September 18 that it had named Buffett chairman emeritus and elected Howard Buffett as the new chairman of the board. The changes took effect immediately. Buffett is stepping down as chairman but will remain a director and advise on major company decisions.

Buffett, now 96, took control of the struggling textile maker Berkshire Hathaway in 1965. He later built it into a conglomerate with a market value of more than $1 trillion by investing insurance float in stocks and corporate acquisitions. Buffett had served as Berkshire chairman since 1970.

The move effectively completes Berkshire’s yearslong management succession process. Buffett stepped down as CEO at the end of last year, and Abel has overseen the company since January. Abel has run Berkshire’s major businesses outside the insurance unit since 2018, gaining experience as Buffett’s designated successor.

In a letter to shareholders, Buffett wrote that “time always wins” and said it was now the right moment to complete the succession process. He praised Abel as having exceeded already high expectations from the start. Buffett added that Abel had been entrusted with major decisions and had given him no reason to second-guess them.

Howard Buffett will focus less on day-to-day management than on preserving Berkshire’s corporate culture and operating principles. “Greg will run the company, and Howard will protect Berkshire’s culture and values,” Buffett wrote. “Those two things are worth more than any asset on the company’s balance sheet.”

Howard Buffett, 71, has served as a Berkshire director since 1993. He is also chairman and CEO of the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, which works on agriculture, food security and conflict mitigation. Susan Decker will remain Berkshire’s lead independent director.

Abel said Buffett’s impact on Berkshire and its shareholders was unmatched in the history of American business. He added that the culture and values Buffett built would remain at the center of the company and that Howard Buffett would help preserve them.