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Warren Buffett has stepped down as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, ending more than six decades at the top of the US conglomerate.
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His son, Howard Buffett, has taken over as non-executive chairman, while Greg Abel remains chief executive.
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Buffett transformed Berkshire from a struggling textile manufacturer into a $1.1 trillion business empire spanning insurance, railways, energy and consumer goods.
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The 96-year-old billionaire will remain on Berkshire’s board as chairman emeritus, maintaining an advisory role during the leadership transition.
September 18, (THEWILL) – Warren Buffett has stepped down as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, handing the position to his son Howard Buffett and bringing to a close more than six decades at the top of the US conglomerate he transformed into a $1.1 trillion business empire.
The 96-year-old billionaire investor will become chairman emeritus and retain his seat on Berkshire’s board, where he is expected to continue providing advice as the company completes a carefully managed leadership transition.
His departure as chairman comes nine months after Greg Abel succeeded him as chief executive. Abel remains responsible for Berkshire’s operations, corporate strategy and capital allocation, while Howard Buffett, a director since 1993, assumes the non-executive chairmanship.
“The timing is right to complete the transition,” Buffett said in a letter to shareholders.
The change formally ends Buffett’s tenure in Berkshire’s two most powerful leadership positions, although his continued presence on the board means the investor synonymous with the company will not disappear entirely from its affairs.
Buffett took control of Berkshire Hathaway in 1965, when it was a struggling New England textile manufacturer, and gradually transformed it into one of the world’s largest conglomerates.
Today, Berkshire owns businesses spanning insurance, railways, energy, manufacturing and consumer products, including GEICO, BNSF Railway and Dairy Queen. It has also built substantial equity investments in major listed companies, including Apple and Coca-Cola.
Central to Buffett’s reputation was his adherence to value investing — identifying businesses with strong fundamentals, purchasing them at attractive prices and holding investments over long periods.
His annual shareholder letters and Berkshire’s annual meetings in Omaha also made him one of the most influential voices in global investing.
Howard Buffett’s appointment separates oversight from day-to-day management. While Abel runs Berkshire and makes key capital decisions, the younger Buffett is expected to focus on the company’s governance and preserving the corporate culture developed under his father.
For investors, the transition represents one of the biggest generational changes in modern corporate America: how Berkshire operates without Buffett holding its top executive or board position.
Buffett described his decades as chairman as the “privilege of a lifetime”, before acknowledging the inevitability of the transition: “Father Time always wins.”
