Warren Buffett steps down as Berkshire Hathaway chairman after 60 years

Warren Buffett has stepped down as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, ending a six-decade run at the helm of the $1 trillion conglomerate.

Berkshire Hathaway announced on Friday that the 96-year-old investor will become chairman emeritus with immediate effect while remaining a member of the company’s board.

His son, Howard Buffett, will succeed him as chairman under the company’s long-standing succession plan, while Susan Decker will continue as lead independent director.

• “Father Time always wins,” Buffett wrote in a letter to Berkshire shareholders announcing the change.

What he is saying

Buffett said he remained confident about the company’s future after overseeing its transformation from a struggling New England textile manufacturer into one of the world’s largest conglomerates.

Greg Abel, who became Berkshire Hathaway’s chief executive officer at the beginning of 2026 after Buffett stepped down as CEO, will continue to run 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 in a statement released by the company.

Buffett said the division of responsibilities would allow Abel to continue running the business while Howard protects the company’s culture and values.

Get up to speed

Buffett had already announced his intention to step down as CEO at Berkshire’s annual meeting in May 2025, with Abel named as his successor. He retained the chairman position after the leadership transition.

• Even after leaving the CEO role, Buffett remained involved in the business. Abel said in March that Buffett continued to come into Berkshire’s Omaha office regularly and that the two still spoke frequently.
• Buffett also attended Berkshire’s annual shareholder meeting in May 2026, although Abel presided over the event for the first time.
• In October 2024, Nairametrics reported that Berkshire Hathaway had sold about $10 billion worth of Bank of America shares, reducing its stake in the bank by nearly a quarter. The sales involved about 239 million shares between mid-July and early October, with Berkshire’s ownership falling from 13.2% to 10.2%. Despite the sales, the conglomerate retained a stake worth about $31 billion at the time.

A few months earlier, Berkshire’s cash pile had also attracted attention after reaching $276.9 billion in the second quarter of 2024, following the sale of nearly half of its Apple holding. At the time, Nairametrics reported that Berkshire’s cash reserves were about 7.4 times Nigeria’s external reserves and higher than the country’s estimated GDP when converted at an exchange rate of N1,500 to the dollar.

What you should know

Buffett took control of Berkshire Hathaway in 1965 and spent the following decades turning the company into a diversified business spanning insurance, energy, railroads, manufacturing, retail and other industries.

Under his leadership, Berkshire generated $44.5 billion in operating earnings last year and employed nearly 400,000 people.

The company delivered a 19.7% compounded annual return to shareholders during Buffett’s tenure, nearly twice the return of the S&P 500 over the same period.