Bernard Condon and Josh Funk, AP Business Writer
OMAHA, Nevada (AP) — Billionaire Warren Buffett remains chairman of the Berkshire Hathaway board when Vice Chairman Greg Abel took over as CEO to Buffett in early 2026.
The cash-rich conglomerate board voted on Sunday to keep the legendary 94-year-old investor as head of the board. This is a decision that is likely to ease investors worried about maintaining a streak of Berkshire’s assault on a striking winning streak as the US and the global economy are plagued by tariff shocks, financial disruption and increased risk of reconstruction.
The board of directors of the same meeting also approved Buffett’s chosen successor, CEO, veteran Berkshire executive Greg Abel, 62. In a surprising announcement on Saturday, Buffett said he would step down from that top spot at the end of the year.
Berkshire Class B stocks fell 4% Monday morning after hitting their all-time highs on Friday.
MacRae Sykes, portfolio manager for Gabelli Funds, praised the company’s transparency after Buffett announced the succession and didn’t expect Buffet to go anywhere.
“Instead of running this conglomerate, I think we’ll give Warren a little more bandwidth,” Sykes said in an interview with the Associated Press. “Greg has increased the transparency of OPPS and Warren remains his leader as chairman.”
Unparalleled success track record
At the helm of 60 years, Buffett transformed the Massachusetts textile company into a vast, light-hearted conglomerate that owns everything from the Daily Queen & Sea candy to the BNSF railroads and large insurance companies. As the company grew, Warren’s reputation steadily rose as Berkshire Hathaway stocks rose, surpassing key indexes at a wide margin, bringing an average of 19.9% back to investors by 10.4% each year.
As Buffett is known, the decision to continue Omaha’s Oracle is different from the succession plan that the board president laid out in the case of Buffett’s death. The billionaire has long said that Howard Buffett, the second-born of three investors’ children, should be the chairman when he goes to protect Berkshire culture.
Abel takes over at a volatile time to launch a trade war with his enemies with his friends, what Buffett calls mistake. However, Abel has managed all of Berkshire’s non-insurance operations since 2018.
Lots of money, there’s very little place to put it
Then there’s Berkshire’s $348 billion in cash.
Buffett says he hasn’t seen many bargains investing that money, even in Berkshire’s own stock, but he assured that the company will be “stricken by opportunity” over the weekend some of the estimated 40,000 participants at the company’s annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska.
A modest Canadian with a hockey love, Abel is a more practical manager than Buffett, asking managers for difficult questions and urging them to work with other subsidiaries when it makes sense. He is now responsible for overseeing the insurance business and investing in the company’s cash. Vice Chairman Ajit Jain, 73, will remain for now to help manage insurance businesses, including large reinsurers like GEICO and General Re.
Abel said on Saturday he would not change Berkshire’s investment approach, but that’s what he learned from Buffett. Maintaining a balance sheet like a Berkshire fortress has always been a priority, he said.
Ultimately, Berkshire may have to consider paying dividends. For now, Buffett and Abel want to continue building cash, so they’ll be prepared when the opportunity arises.
Abel’s high rating
Buffett approved Abel and vowed to maintain all the stakes that control Berkshire Hathaway 30%.
“Greg is much better than me because I didn’t want to work as hard as he works, so I can get away because I basically have a good business. It’s a very good business,” Buffett said.
He also said Abel will bring new strengths to the company.
“The fact that you can do pretty well doesn’t mean you can’t do well, Greg can do better with a lot of things,” he said.
Reporting to Abel, the CEO of a Berkshire subsidiary praises not only personal accountability for his management style, but also autonomy. See Candy CEO Pat Egan worked with Abel on Berkshire’s utility unit over six years ago, saying Abel will make sure he considers all contingencies.
“He is allowed to make many decisions that he may or may not have agreed to, but as long as we operate in integrity, principles and long games, he will support us at the end of the day,” Egan said.
However, Morningstar analyst Gregory Warren writes that the announcement of Buffett’s succession leaves him with many questions, and that Abel must prove himself.
“In our view, Abel is held to a different standard than Buffett and focuses on Berkshire’s performance, especially if you move past the end of the company’s era, there could be some kind of cancellation for company shareholders,” Warren said.
Buffett’s charity continues
Buffett has always delegated decisions on how to distribute nearly $170 billion in property to others through annual share donations to the Gates Foundation and four child-run family foundations.
The Gates Foundation has received the largest donation of over $40 billion since it began giving its fortune in 2006.
He said last summer that his three children will decide how to distribute his remaining assets after his death, but donations to the Gates Foundation end. Buffett said he expects it will take 10 years to hand over all the shares after his death and hopes to secure support from his family to Abel’s expansion.
AP Business Writer Bernard Condon is located in New York City. Associated Business Writer Michelle Chapman contributed to this report from New York City.
Original issue: May 5, 2025 9:56am EDT
