Buffett abandons CEO role at the end of the year
Abel is appointed CEO in 2021
Buffett says there is “zero” to sell Berkshire shares
Jonathan Steepboard and Susan McGee
Omaha, Nebraska, May 3 (Reuters) –
Warren Buffett said Saturday that he will resign as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway by the end of this year and hand over the InS rope to Vice Chairman Greg Abel.
“I think it's time for Greg to be the company's CEO by the end of the year,” Buffett, 94, said at Berkshire's annual meeting.
He said although Buffett told the children that Abel had not yet realized his plans before an announcement was announced.
Abel, 62, has been Berkshire’s vice chairman since 2018 and was appointed CEO of Buffett in 2021.
Buffett also said he had a “zero” intention to sell any of his Berkshire stocks, and almost all of them would be donated after his death.
The decision to step down was a remarkable 60 years, with Buffett transforming Berkshire from a failed textile company to a huge group of companies with American economic enterprises.
Buffett took over Berkshire in 1965, and his long-time friend and business partner, Charlie Munger, died in November 2023 and built it on a US success story.
Headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, Buffett and Munger grew up there, Berkshire is a more than $1 trillion conglomerate with nearly 200 businesses including Geico Car Insurance, BNSF Railroad, Industrial and Chemical Corporation, Utilities, Utilities, Utilities, Dairy Queen Ice Cream, Love Grandma’s Fruit, Pragmatic Underwear and Candy Fruit.
Buffett is known as “Omaha's Oracle” for his successful investments and his folk wisdom and modest lifestyle.
Berkshire stock rose 5,502,284% from 1965 to 2024, and Buffett never moved out of the home that paid $31,500 in 1958.
Buffett is a disciple of economist Benjamin Graham, whose former professor emphasized the importance of corporate fundamentals rather than paying for assets.
This approach often makes it difficult to deploy Berkshire's growing cash hoard, which hit $347.7 billion in late March.
Abel joined former Central American Energy in 1992 and is now known as Berkshire Hathaway Energy, eight years after Berkshire took over. He later led the business for ten years.
“He did all the work and I held the bow,” Buffett joked in a TV interview in April 2023.
According to Forbes, Buffett's wealth is worth $168.2 billion, which would be higher if his Berkshire stock has not exceeded half since 2006.
Almost all the rest are expected to enter
Supervised by his daughter Susie and sons Howard and Peter.
Abel will face challenges including how to help Berkshire grow meaningfully without overtaking, whether to pay dividends and how to deploy cash.
Size may weight Berkshire's growth prospects, and Buffett admitted in 2024 that “eye-catching performance” is not the company's future.
Berkshire has billions of dollars in many stocks, including Apple, American Express and Bank of America.
Howard Buffett, 70, is expected to replace his father as non-executive chairman of Berkshire to help maintain the company's culture.
(Reported by Jonathan Stempel in Omaha, Nebraska; other reports by Suzanne McGee and Carolina Mandl; Edited by Megan Davies and Diane Craft)
