94-year Billionaire, Warren Buffett, to Step Down as Berkshire CEO after Six Decades

How he transformed failing textile firm into $1.16tn conglomerate 

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja 

Warren Buffett is set to step down as chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway at the end of 2025, and hand over the reins to Vice Chairman Greg Abel, ending his career as perhaps the world’s most famous and revered investor.

The move caps an era for Berkshire after Buffett’s extraordinary 60 years at the helm, which made him a household name, a multi-billionaire and an American success story.

“I think the time has arrived where Greg should become the chief executive officer of the company at year end,” Buffett, 94, said at the weekend, as he wrapped up Berkshire’s annual meeting in Omaha.

He added that he would still “hang around and conceivably be useful in a few cases” but that the “final word” would be Abel’s, a Reuters report said.

The announcement prompted an outpouring of praise for Buffett from CEOs and investors.

“Warren Buffett represents everything that is good about American capitalism and America itself – investing in the growth of our nation and its businesses with integrity, optimism, and common sense,” said CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co, Jamie Dimon.

Chief Executive of Apple, Tim Cook, in a post on X said: “There’s never been someone like Warren, and countless people, myself included, have been inspired by his wisdom. It’s been one of the great privileges of my life to know him.”

Buffett’s move will propel Abel into the spotlight at Berkshire. Abel, who has long been identified by Berkshire to be Buffett’s successor, may not have the star power of Buffett although he is expected to preserve the culture of the conglomerate.

Buffett said Abel and most of Berkshire’s board of directors hadn’t been aware of his plans prior to the announcement, though Buffett had told his two children who are directors. Berkshire’s board of directors will meet  to discuss the transition.

Abel, 62, has been a Berkshire vice chairman since 2018, and was named Buffett’s expected successor as chief executive in 2021. “I couldn’t be more humbled and honored to be part of Berkshire as we go forth,” Abel told shareholders.

Buffett also said he had “zero” intention of selling any of his Berkshire stock, nearly all of which will be donated after his death.

“The decision to keep every share is an economic decision because I think the prospects of Berkshire will be better under Greg’s management than mine,” Buffett said.

The decision to step down caps a remarkable 60-year run where Buffett transformed Berkshire from a failing textile company into a $1.16 trillion conglomerate with businesses across the U.S. economy.

Buffett’s own fortune totals $168.2 billion according to Forbes magazine, nearly all of which is in Berkshire stock, Reuters stated.

Berkshire’s stock price has risen 19 per cent this year, compared with a 3 per cent drop in the Standard & Poor’s 500. Many investors have viewed the conglomerate and Buffett’s stewardship as a safe haven from uncertainty about the economy and U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff policies.

Buffett took over Berkshire in 1965 and with his longtime friend and business partner Charlie Munger, who died in November 2023, built it into an American success story.

Headquartered in Omaha, where Buffett and Munger grew up, Berkshire now has close to 200 businesses including Geico car insurance, the BNSF railroad, industrial and chemical companies, utilities, Dairy Queen ice cream, Fruit of the Loom underwear and See’s Candies.

It also ended March with $264 billion of stocks including Apple, American Express and Bank of America.

Buffett became known as the “Oracle of Omaha” for his investing success as well as his folksy wisdom and modest lifestyle. While Berkshire stock rose 5,502,284 per cent from 1965 to 2024, Buffett never moved from a home he paid $31,500 for in 1958.

Buffett’s fortune would have been much bigger had he not since 2006 given away more than half his Berkshire shares to charity. Nearly all of the rest is expected to go into a new charitable trust,  overseen by his daughter, Susie, and sons Howard and Peter.