Warren Buffett has stepped down as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway after more than five decades in the role, the US conglomerate announced.
Buffett, 96, was named chairman emeritus with immediate effect and will remain on the board, Berkshire said in a statement on Friday.
The board elected his son, Howard G. Buffett, a director since 1993, as chairman under the company’s long-standing succession plan.
Warren Buffett had chaired Berkshire since 1970 and led its transformation from a struggling textile business into a diversified conglomerate operating in insurance, energy, rail transportation, manufacturing, services and retail.
He stepped down as chief executive at the end of 2025 and was succeeded by longtime deputy Greg Abel.
“The timing is right to complete the transition,” Warren Buffett said in a letter to shareholders accompanying Friday’s announcement.
Warren Buffett described serving as chairman as the “privilege of a lifetime” and expressed confidence in Berkshire’s future leadership.
Abel said Warren Buffett’s impact on Berkshire and its shareholders was unparalleled in US business history, adding that the culture and values he established would remain central to the company.
Howard Buffett, 71, has chaired the Howard G. Buffett Foundation since 1999. The foundation focuses on global food security and conflict mitigation.
He previously served on Coca-Cola's board.
‘Oracle of Omaha’
Born in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1930, Warren Buffett began investing as a child and later studied under Benjamin Graham, a leading proponent of value investing, at Columbia Business School.
He took control of Berkshire Hathaway, then a struggling textile manufacturer, in 1965 and transformed it into one of the world’s largest conglomerates.
Berkshire expanded through acquisitions and investments into insurance, rail transportation, energy, manufacturing, services and retail. Its businesses include insurer Geico, railroad operator BNSF, Berkshire Hathaway Energy and confectioner See’s Candies.
The company also became known for its major stakes in publicly traded companies, including Apple, Coca-Cola and American Express.
Warren Buffett’s strategy of buying high-quality businesses at attractive prices and holding them for the long term earned him the nickname the “Oracle of Omaha” and made Berkshire’s annual shareholder meeting one of the most closely watched events in global finance.
One of the world’s wealthiest people, Warren Buffett has pledged to donate 99% of his fortune to philanthropic causes. He co-founded the Giving Pledge with Bill and Melinda Gates in 2010.
Forbes estimated his net worth at $144.7 billion as of Friday, ranking him as the world’s 10th-richest person.
