Warren Buffett to Step Down as Berkshire CEO, Greg Abel Named Successor

In a long-anticipated but still surprising move, legendary investor Warren Buffett announced Saturday that he will step down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway at the end of the year.

Greg Abel, currently vice chairman overseeing the company’s non-insurance operations, is set to assume the CEO role, pending approval from the board. Despite the leadership transition, Buffett emphasized that he won’t sell a single share of Berkshire stock. Abel was first named as Buffett’s successor in 2021.

Buffett, 94, will remain as Berkshire’s chairman for the time being, with plans for his son, Howard Buffett, to eventually take over that position after his passing.

“Greg should become the chief executive officer of the company at year-end, and I want to spring that on the directors effectively,” Buffett told the crowd at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska.

He added that only his children were aware of his decision ahead of the announcement.

The declaration was met with a standing ovation from the thousands attending the annual shareholder gathering.

Buffett, who has led Berkshire since its founding in 1965, was widely expected to address succession during the event. Born in Omaha in 1930, he began his investing career at age 11, buying three shares of Cities Service in 1942 at \$38 each and selling them for a modest gain—although the stock later soared to \$200.

As of now, Buffett is the fifth richest person globally, with a net worth of \$169 billion, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index.

During the meeting, Buffett also weighed in on U.S. trade policy, calling tariffs and trade wars a “big mistake.”

“Trade should not be a weapon,” he said, further warning that “trade could be an act of war.”