Warren Buffett gives up Berkshire chair after six decades, son Howard takes the reins

Warren Buffett is stepping down as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, ending a six-decade run at the helm of the $1 trillion conglomerate and completing the next major step in the company’s long-planned succession.

The 96-year-old legendary investor announced the move in a letter to shareholders on Friday. Buffett will become chairman emeritus with immediate effect while remaining a director on Berkshire’s board.

His son, Howard Buffett, will succeed him as chairman, in line with Berkshire’s long-standing succession plan. Susan Decker will continue as lead independent director.

The move comes just over nine months after Greg Abel, 64, took over as Berkshire’s chief executive officer, with Buffett retaining the chairmanship at the time. Buffett had announced his decision to step down as CEO at Berkshire’s annual meeting in May 2025, bringing Abel formally into the company’s top operating role.

“Father Time always wins,” Buffett wrote in his letter. “He has, however, been generous with me. He has given me the opportunity to see Berkshire reach a point where I am more confident than ever about what lies ahead.”

 

Abel runs Berkshire, Howard guards its culture

While Buffett remained chairman after stepping down as CEO, the transition of day-to-day leadership had already been under way.

Abel has been running Berkshire’s operations since taking over as CEO, while Buffett continued to play an active role in major decisions and remained a sounding board for the new chief executive. In March, Abel told CNBC that Buffett was still coming into Berkshire’s Omaha office every day and that he continued to consult him frequently.

Buffett also remained involved in significant investment decisions. In July, he said that he had been the driving force behind Berkshire’s recent investment in Alphabet, following a roughly $10 billion private stock purchase in June that made the Google parent the company’s third-largest stock holding, behind Apple and American Express.

Buffett’s latest move formally separates the company’s operating leadership from the stewardship of its culture.

 

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“Greg runs the company; Howard will guard its culture and values – both worth more than anything on our balance sheet,” Buffett wrote. “Think of Howard as a policy the shareholders own and hope never to claim against.”

Abel said in Berkshire’s statement that the culture Buffett built would remain central to the company.

“The culture Warren built and the values he championed will remain at the heart of Berkshire, and Howard will be their guardian,” Abel said.

Howard Buffett, who has long been part of Berkshire’s succession discussions, is not expected to take over the company’s day-to-day operations. His role as chairman is instead focused on preserving the principles and culture that have shaped Berkshire under his father.

 

From a struggling textile mill to a corporate giant

Buffett took control of Berkshire in 1965, when it was a struggling New England textile manufacturer. Over the following six decades, he transformed it into one of the world’s largest conglomerates, spanning insurance, railroads, energy, manufacturing and a vast investment portfolio.

Berkshire reported $44.5 billion in operating earnings last year and employs nearly 400,000 people. During Buffett’s tenure, the company delivered a 19.7% compounded annual return to shareholders, nearly twice the return of the S&P 500 over the same period.

Despite his age, Buffett remained closely involved with Berkshire until recently. In a Thanksgiving letter to shareholders last year, as he prepared to hand the CEO role to Abel, he acknowledged that age was beginning to slow him down.

“To my surprise, I generally feel good. Though I move slowly and read with increasing difficulty, I am at the office five days a week,” Buffett wrote.

In Friday’s letter, he struck a characteristically lighter tone about turning 96.

“Recently, I celebrated my 96th birthday with family and friends, including one of my great-grandchildren, who had just turned one. He’s moving a bit faster than I am these days,” he wrote.

Buffett’s departure as chairman comes as Berkshire shares have lagged the broader US market in 2026. The stock is up about 1% this year, compared with a gain of more than 11% for the S&P 500.

 

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The performance adds importance to Abel’s task of deploying Berkshire’s enormous capital base. The company held $365.5 billion in cash, while share buybacks increased to $4.5 billion in the second quarter.

Buffett, however, offered a strong endorsement of his successor as CEO.

“My expectations for him were sky high from the start, and he has exceeded them,” Buffett wrote.

“The company is in excellent hands, and I look forward to remaining a shareholder alongside you,” he added.

Abel, in comments to CNBC, said Buffett had given him “an extraordinary responsibility” and the freedom to lead Berkshire in keeping with its established culture and values.

“I look forward to continuing to work alongside Warren, with Howard serving as Chairman and Sue as Lead Independent Director, and I am grateful for that opportunity,” Abel said.