Berkshire Hathaway Inc. founder Warren Buffett is stepping down as the company’s chairman to be replaced by his son Howard, effectively ending roughly six decades at the helm of the conglomerate.
The billionaire will become chairman emeritus of the company, effective immediately, according to a statement Friday. The elder Buffett will remain a member of the board, while his son, a director of the company since 1993, steps into the top role.
It’s the latest step in the succession process at one of the world’s most storied companies. Greg Abel replaced Buffett earlier this year as the company’s chief executive officer.
“Warren’s impact on Berkshire and its owners is without parallel in the history of American business,” Abel said in the statement. “The culture Warren built and the values he championed will remain at the heart of Berkshire, and Howard will be their guardian.”
Buffett, 96, transformed the Omaha, Nebraska-based company, once an aging textile mill, into a more than $1 trillion conglomerate.
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Buffett has taken steps to pare back his role at the company, ceding the writing of his annual letter to Abel and not appearing onstage at its annual meeting in May. In July, Buffett pledged to completely dispose of his roughly $140 billion stake in Berkshire Hathaway by 2034. He told CNBC earlier this year that he had recently broken his leg.
In a letter to shareholders, Buffett said he made the decision to step down after Abel exceeded his “sky high” expectations as CEO.
“He has been making the decisions that matter for some time now, and I have not had to think twice about any of them,” Buffett wrote. “So the timing is right to complete the transition.”
Abel has already begun deploying the company’s vast cash pile, including in share buybacks, since the company announced Buffett would step down as CEO at its annual meeting in 2025. Berkshire’s cash hoard dropped to $365.5 billion in the second quarter from its record of nearly $397 billion the prior period.
The company’s stock price has largely stayed flat this year, gaining 1.3%, compared with the S&P 500 stock index’s 11.6% return. Buffett has often used this index to tout Berkshire’s performance.
While Abel will run the business, Howard Buffett, who has spent 33 years on Berkshire’s board, will be responsible for the company’s culture and values, “both worth more than anything on our balance sheet,” Buffett said in a letter announcing his move.
“Howard cares deeply about Berkshire, as do all of our directors,” he said. “No company has been or will be more shareholder-minded than Berkshire.”
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