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Key Takeaways Warren Buffett, 96, disclosed on Friday in a letter to shareholders that he would be stepping down as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway’s board, effective immediately.
He wrote that he was “more confident than ever about what lies ahead” as he transitions to the role of chairman emeritus.
Part of Buffett’s confidence comes from his certainty that his CEO successor, Greg Abel, and his chairman successor and son, Howard Buffett, will run Berkshire well.
Last month, acclaimed investor Warren Buffett celebrated his 96th birthday — and found that one of his great-grandchildren, who just turned one, was moving more quickly than he was. The observation cemented his decision to take another step back from Berkshire Hathaway, the company he took over in 1965 and built into a trillion-dollar conglomerate over 61 years.
In a letter to shareholders released on Friday, Buffett explained that he would be stepping down as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway’s board, effective immediately. He will become chairman emeritus and remain a director on the board.
“Father Time always wins,” Buffett wrote. “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. The company is in excellent hands, and I look forward to remaining a shareholder alongside you.”
Part of Buffett’s confidence comes from Greg Abel, his successor, who took over as CEO earlier this year. “My expectations for him were sky high from the start, and he has exceeded them,” Buffett said in the letter. “So the timing is right to complete the transition.”
Buffett’s son, Howard, 71, will succeed him as chairman of the board. Howard manages a 1,500-acre farm in Illinois and oversees a 400-acre farm in Nebraska. He has been a Berkshire director for 33 years, according to Buffett.
“That is a longer apprenticeship than I served before taking the reins at the age of 34,” Buffett wrote. “Greg runs the company; Howard will guard its culture and values — both worth more than anything on our balance sheet.”
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