Buffett “retires”: son takes over as chairman, CEO continues to “manage”

On September 18, local time, Berkshire Hathaway announced that 96-year-old Warren Buffett officially stepped down as chairman and became honorary chairman. He will continue to stay on the board of directors. His 71-year-old eldest son Howard G. Buffett took over as chairman.

Greg Abel continues to serve as CEO and is responsible for the company’s operations. On the one hand, Buffett still retains his seat on the board of directors, and on the other hand, a descendant of the family takes over the chairmanship. A generation of investment gurus have gradually taken a backseat, and Berkshire has officially entered the post-Buffett era.

“Howard’s succession has been planned for more than ten years, which is a good thing.” Chen Kaifeng, a Berkshire Hathaway shareholder and chief economist of Huisheng Financial Management, was not surprised by the handover. He told a Shell Finance reporter that in the long run, Berkshire is still worth investing in.

A handover that has been years in the making

On September 18, local time, Berkshire Hathaway issued an announcement and a letter from Buffett to shareholders, disclosing the results of the board of directors election. According to the announcement, Warren Buffett stepped down as chairman and became honorary chairman. He will continue to serve as a member of the board of directors and continue to provide judgment and insights to the company. The board of directors elected Howard G. Buffett to take over as chairman and Susan L. Decker to continue as lead independent director.

This is not a hasty transition. As early as January 1, 2026, Buffett had stepped down as CEO of Berkshire, and Greg Abel took over the company. At that time, Buffett retained his position as chairman and continued to be deeply involved in major matters of the company. This handover of the chairman position is the final step in Berkshire’s succession planning.

Buffett has been in charge of this position for 56 years, starting from 1970 when he became chairman of Berkshire Hathaway. In more than sixty years, he built a textile company on the verge of bankruptcy into a holding group with a global market value of over one trillion US dollars, with businesses spanning insurance, energy, railways, and consumer manufacturing.

Buffett wrote in a letter to shareholders that after leading Berkshire for more than 60 years, he believes that now is the right time to complete the handover. “I am more confident than ever about the future of Berkshire.” He admitted that Father Time will eventually win, but time will not be kind to him. Buffett, 96, still retains a large number of Berkshire shares and remains on the board of directors.

Greg Abel issued a statement on behalf of Berkshire’s board of directors, saying that Warren’s influence on Berkshire and its owners is unprecedented in the history of American business. The corporate culture and values ​​established by Warren will continue to be the core of Berkshire, and Howard will be the guardian of these values.

He said, “We are grateful to Howard for bringing his prudence, discipline and deep understanding of Berkshire to his new role, and to Sue Decker for her continued leadership and valuable contributions as lead independent director.”

兒子“當家”不操盤

The most critical design of this personnel adjustment is the separation of powers and responsibilities, which is also the core of understanding Berkshire’s succession plan. The first reaction of many market participants is that “son inherits the father’s business”, but Berkshire’s structure is completely different from traditional family businesses.

Greg Abel, the current CEO of Berkshire, takes over overall company operations, capital allocation, major mergers and acquisitions, and stock investment decisions. In the past period, Abel has independently made a number of important investment decisions. Buffett commented in the shareholder letter that Abel’s performance exceeded his expectations and major decisions did not give him the slightest doubt.

The new chairman, Howard G. Buffett, has a completely different positioning. Howard, 71, has been a director of Berkshire since 1993 and has been a director for 33 years. Buffett mentioned in the letter that Howard’s “apprenticeship” was even longer than the preparation time before he took charge of Berkshire at the age of 34.

Howard has long been involved in agriculture and global food security public welfare undertakings, runs a large foundation, and has served as a director of many listed companies such as Coca-Cola. He is not a professional investor on Wall Street and is not responsible for daily stock selection, asset allocation and corporate acquisitions.

Chen Kaifeng said that Buffett mentioned very early on that the company’s culture is inherited by Howard, the company’s management is managed by Abel, and the investment and fund manager teams are basically the “troika”. Howard has done a lot of philanthropy in recent years, and he has been protecting the Buffett family culture.

“Buffett serves as honorary chairman and still has a great influence on Berkshire.” Chen Kaifeng said that in the future, Berkshire will be different from Buffett’s management period. Berkshire will increasingly be an industrial company, with its business spread in manufacturing, energy, etc., and its investment proportion will become smaller and smaller.

Yang Delong, chief economist of Qianhai Kaiyuan Fund, also said that this Berkshire handover is original and in line with Berkshire’s operating characteristics. He asked Howard to be chairman as a representative of his cultural ideas, and asked Abel to invest and operate. This will not only ensure that Berkshire stays on the normal track and continue to make value investments, but also prevent future deviations.