At 96, Warren Buffett handed the chairmanship to his son.
He did it in steps. First, he had Greg Abel take control of a whole collection of companies under his watch. In May 2025, it was announced that Abel would step down as CEO at year’s end while remaining as chairman. Now Buffett has even relinquished the chairmanship, keeping only the role of honorary chairman on the board. Taking over is his son, Howard, according to the company’s long-term succession plan. Buffett said Howard’s main job is to protect the company’s culture and values—things that are more valuable than anything on a balance sheet.
Howard has served on the board for 33 years. After 1986, he ran a 400-acre farm north of Omaha, and another 1,500 acres in Illinois. He also served for more than a year as a county sheriff, with more than 3,300 total hours of duty and training. Last year, his foundation donated $700 million, of which roughly $350 million went to Ukraine.
The market didn’t pay much attention. On Friday’s early trading, Class A and Class B shares briefly dropped; by the close they were nearly unchanged. Since the announcement last May that he would step down as CEO, Berkshire’s share price has fallen by more than 5%, while the S&P 500 has risen by more than 34% over the same period. Buffett himself said Howard is a policy owned by shareholders—one they’d ideally never have to file a claim on.
He also said he still has the best job in the world. But succession has never been decided by one line of words; it depends on whether he keeps going to the office every week going forward.
What you hand over is harder to manage than what you leave behind.
#巴菲特卸任伯克希尔董事长 # Value investing
He did it in steps. First, he had Greg Abel take control of a whole collection of companies under his watch. In May 2025, it was announced that Abel would step down as CEO at year’s end while remaining as chairman. Now Buffett has even relinquished the chairmanship, keeping only the role of honorary chairman on the board. Taking over is his son, Howard, according to the company’s long-term succession plan. Buffett said Howard’s main job is to protect the company’s culture and values—things that are more valuable than anything on a balance sheet.
Howard has served on the board for 33 years. After 1986, he ran a 400-acre farm north of Omaha, and another 1,500 acres in Illinois. He also served for more than a year as a county sheriff, with more than 3,300 total hours of duty and training. Last year, his foundation donated $700 million, of which roughly $350 million went to Ukraine.
The market didn’t pay much attention. On Friday’s early trading, Class A and Class B shares briefly dropped; by the close they were nearly unchanged. Since the announcement last May that he would step down as CEO, Berkshire’s share price has fallen by more than 5%, while the S&P 500 has risen by more than 34% over the same period. Buffett himself said Howard is a policy owned by shareholders—one they’d ideally never have to file a claim on.
He also said he still has the best job in the world. But succession has never been decided by one line of words; it depends on whether he keeps going to the office every week going forward.
What you hand over is harder to manage than what you leave behind.
#巴菲特卸任伯克希尔董事长 # Value investing
