Buffett to step down as Berkshire CEO after 60 years at helm, passes baton to Abel

By Jonathan Stempel and Suzanne McGee

OMAHA, Nebraska (Reuters) -Warren Buffett is ending his career as perhaps the world's most famous and revered investor, saying he will step down as chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway at the end of 2025, and hand over the reins to Vice Chairman Greg Abel.

The move caps an era for Berkshire after Buffett's extraordinary 60 years at the helm, which made him a household name, a multi-billionaire and an American success story.

"I think the time has arrived where Greg should become the chief executive officer of the company at year end," Buffett, 94, said on Saturday as he wrapped up Berkshire's annual meeting in Omaha, adding he would still "hang around and conceivably be useful in a few cases" but that the "final word" would be Abel's.

The announcement prompted an outpouring of praise for Buffett from CEOs and investors.

"Warren Buffett represents everything that is good about American capitalism and America itself - investing in the growth of our nation and its businesses with integrity, optimism, and common sense," said Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Tim Cook, chief executive of Apple, in a post on X said: "There's never been someone like Warren, and countless people, myself included, have been inspired by his wisdom. It's been one of the great privileges of my life to know him."

Buffett's move will propel Abel into the spotlight at Berkshire. Abel, who has long been identified by Berkshire to be Buffett's successor, may not have the star power of Buffett although he is expected to preserve the culture of the conglomerate.

Buffett said Abel and most of Berkshire's board of directors hadn't been aware of his plans prior to the announcement, though Buffett had told his two children who are directors. Berkshire’s board of directors will meet on Sunday to discuss the transition, he said.

Abel, 62, has been a Berkshire vice chairman since 2018, and was named Buffett's expected successor as chief executive in 2021.

"I couldn't be more humbled and honored to be part of Berkshire as we go forth," Abel told shareholders.

Buffett also said he had "zero" intention of selling any of his Berkshire stock, nearly all of which will be donated after his death.

"The decision to keep every share is an economic decision because I think the prospects of Berkshire will be better under Greg's management than mine," Buffett said.

REMARKABLE RUN

The decision to step down caps a remarkable 60-year run where Buffett transformed Berkshire from a failing textile company into a $1.16 trillion conglomerate with businesses across the U.S. economy.

Buffett's own fortune totals $168.2 billion according to Forbes magazine, nearly all of which is in Berkshire stock.

Cole Smead, chief executive of Smead Capital Management, said after Buffett's announcement he turned to his father Bill Smead, who founded the firm, and said: "Well, it's the end of an era. It's sad, but it's life."

Berkshire's stock price has risen 19% this year, compared with a 3% drop in the Standard & Poor's 500.

Many investors have viewed the conglomerate and Buffett's stewardship as a safe haven from uncertainty about the economy and U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policies.

"The question going forward is: will Berkshire still have a Buffett premium when Buffett is not there?" said Cathy Seifert, an analyst at CFRA Research. "You're buying a stock and you're also getting the investing prowess of a legend. With that legend gone, what is the value?"

'GREG CAN DO BETTER'

Abel had already been taking on many of Buffett's responsibilities, including for capital allocation.

Asked during the meeting how his oversight of Berkshire's 189 operating businesses would differ from Buffett's, Abel said: "More active, but hopefully in a very positive way."

Buffett said Berkshire's board could make arrangements for the transfer of power over the next few months, and he could "conceivably be useful in a few cases" after Abel takes over.

"The fact that you can do pretty well doesn't mean you couldn't do better, and Greg can do better," Buffett told shareholders before the announcement.

Berkshire's annual shareholder weekend, which Buffett calls "Woodstock for Capitalists," annually draws tens of thousands of people to Omaha for the meeting and for a series of shareholder events across the city, including shopping.

The company has said it intends to continue holding the weekends. Many shareholders have said they will keep attending after Buffett leaves, though many believe attendance will drop.

Buffett took over Berkshire in 1965 and with his longtime friend and business partner Charlie Munger, who died in November 2023, built it into an American success story.

Headquartered in Omaha, where Buffett and Munger grew up, Berkshire now has close to 200 businesses including Geico car insurance, the BNSF railroad, industrial and chemical companies, utilities, Dairy Queen ice cream, Fruit of the Loom underwear and See's Candies.

It also ended March with $264 billion of stocks including Apple, American Express and Bank of America.

'ORACLE OF OMAHA'

Buffett became known as the "Oracle of Omaha" for his investing success as well as his folksy wisdom and modest lifestyle.

While Berkshire stock rose 5,502,284% from 1965 to 2024, Buffett never moved from a home he paid $31,500 for in 1958.

Buffett was a disciple of Benjamin Graham, the economist and his former professor, stressing the importance of company fundamentals and not overpaying for assets.

That approach often made it hard to deploy Berkshire's ever-growing cash hoard, which reached $347.7 billion at the end of March.

Abel joined the former MidAmerican Energy, now known as Berkshire Hathaway Energy, in 1992, eight years before Berkshire took it over. He later led that business for a decade.

Buffett's fortune would have been much bigger had he not since 2006 given away more than half his Berkshire shares to charity.

Nearly all of the rest is expected to go into a new charitable trust overseen by his daughter Susie and sons Howard and Peter.

Abel will face challenges including how to help Berkshire grow meaningfully without overpaying for acquisitions, whether to pay a dividend and how to deploy the cash.

Howard Buffett, 70, is expected to eventually succeed his father as Berkshire's non-executive chairman, to help preserve the company's culture.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in Omaha, Nebraska; Additional reporting by Suzanne McGee and Carolina Mandl; Editing by Megan Davies, Diane Craft and Andrea Ricci)