Warren Buffett has stepped down as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway after 56 years, bringing an end to an era at the company he turned into a $1.1 trillion empire.
But the billionaire investor is not handing his life’s work to just one successor.
Buffett’s son Howard has taken over as chairman, while Greg Abel, his longtime deputy who became CEO earlier this year, will continue to run Berkshire’s businesses.
The arrangement effectively splits the enormous role Buffett held for decades between the two men.
Abel, 64, is the man in charge of Berkshire’s day-to-day operations and decisions over where its money goes. Howard Buffett, meanwhile, will oversee the board and is expected to act as a guardian of the company’s culture.
“Greg runs the company; Howard will guard its culture and values,” Buffett said in a letter to shareholders.
Warren Buffett will also remain on Berkshire’s board as chairman emeritus, meaning the 96-year-old is not cutting his ties with the company altogether.
It is a major change for Berkshire, where Buffett’s presence has been almost inseparable from the company itself.
He took control of the struggling textile manufacturer in 1965 and became chairman five years later. What followed was one of the most remarkable runs in American business.
Over the decades, Buffett used Berkshire to buy businesses ranging from insurer Geico and railroad BNSF to Dairy Queen, while taking major stakes in some of America’s biggest companies.
The result is a conglomerate now worth around $1.1 trillion.
Abel had long been considered Buffett’s eventual successor and was publicly identified as the man who would take over the top job years before the transition actually happened.
Buffett has previously said he wanted his son to eventually serve as non-executive chairman, not because Howard would run Berkshire, but because he could help make sure the company did not drift away from the principles on which it was built.
Buffett himself acknowledged that age was finally catching up with him as he announced his departure from the chairman’s post.
“Father Time always wins,” he said.
2026-09-18 19:53:00
