End of an Era: The Oracle of Omaha Steps Down as Berkshire CEO

News reports revealed that the New York Stock Exchange’s most famous investor will ask Berkshire’s board of directors to replace him as CEO with Greg Abel. Announcing the end of an era in Omaha on Saturday, Buffett stated that he would soon ask Berkshire Hathaway’s board of directors to appoint Greg Abel as his successor by the end of the year.

While Buffett is 94 years old, and Abel was appointed his successor as CEO in 2021, this came as a surprise to the thousands of admiring shareholders who gathered at this year’s annual meeting to once again hear the investing legend’s views on the company’s future. “Tomorrow we have a Berkshire board meeting, and we have 11 directors,” Buffett said in the final minutes of the meeting. “Two of the directors, my sons, Howie and Susie, are familiar with what I’m going to talk about there. For the rest, this will be news to them, but I think it’s time for Greg to become CEO by the end of the year.”

Rugged Beginnings: In 1965, Buffett bought what was then a struggling New England textile mill and, over six decades, transformed the company into a unique conglomerate, encompassing companies ranging from Geico Insurance to BNSF Railroad. Buffett is handing over the reins at a moment of euphoria, as Berkshire’s stock has reached a new peak, giving the conglomerate a market value of nearly $1.2 trillion.

The “Oracle of Omaha” said he would “remain on hand” to help, but that the final say on the company’s operations and capital deployment would rest with Abel, 62, who is currently vice president of Berkshire’s non-insurance operations. “I think I might be helpful in some ways, if we come across periods of promising opportunities or something like that.” The new phase: Buffett, who owns more than $160 billion in Berkshire as its largest shareholder, said he won’t sell a single share of stock after moving into this new phase.

“I would add that the decision to hold every share is an economic one, because I think Berkshire’s prospects are better under Greg than under me,” added Buffett, who used a cane to walk around the meeting but answered questions for four hours with surprising energy and clarity for his age.

Who is Greg Abel? Buffett praised Abel in front of about 40,000 shareholders on Saturday, saying his more hands-on management style works for Berkshire’s more than 60 companies. “It works better for Greg than it does for me, because, you know, I didn’t want to work as hard as he does,” Buffett said. “I can get away with it because we have a fundamentally good business, a very good business.” The Canadian executive, born in Edmonton, Alberta, has 25 years of experience at Berkshire. Abel joined Berkshire in 2000 when the company acquired MidAmerican Energy, eventually becoming CEO in 2008. Prior to that, Abel worked at Cal Energy, where he transformed the small geothermal energy company into a diversified energy company.