An end to a Saturday was announced in Omaha, when Warren Buffett said that he will soon ask the Berkshire Hathaway board to have Greg Abel replaced him as a CEO at the end of the year.
While Buffett is 94 and Abel was designated as CEO successor in 2021, it came as a surprise for the thousands of admiring shareholders who had gathered for this year’s annual meeting to hear the research legend again about the future of the company.
“Tomorrow we have a Berkshire board meeting, and we have 11 drivers. Two of the directors who are my children, Howie and Susie, know what I’m going to talk about.
Buffett, who took over as CEO from the former textile company in 1965, said that he will still ‘hang out’ to help, but would be the last word about business activities and capital input at Abel, 62, currently vice-chairman of non-care programs for Berkshire.
Warren Buffett and Greg Abel Walkthrough The Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders’ meeting in Omaha, Nebraska on 3 May 2025.
David A. Grogen | CNBC
“I could be useful, I believe, in a certain sense, if we have a rans of bone options or something,” he added.
Buffett, who has more than $ 160 billion in Berkshire, as the largest shareholder, said he would not sell any part of the shares after I transfer to this new phase.
“I would add this, the decision to maintain each share is an economic decision best hours with surprising energy and clarity for his age.
Buffett sang praise for sub 40,000 shareholders on Saturday and said that his more hands-on management style works better for the 60-plus subsidiaries of Berkshire. Abel is located in des Moines, Iowa.
“It works much better with Greg than with me because, you know, I didn’t want to work as hard as he works,” said Buffett. “I could get away with it, Basse came in the first place of good things, very good things.”
The Canadian director, born in Edmonton, Alberta, you have 25-year-old tenor in Berkshire under his belt. Abel came to Berkshire in 2000 when the conglomerate Mid -Marican Energy endangered, where he eventually became CEO in 2008. Before that, Abel worked at Calenergy where I transformed the small geothermal company into a diversified energy company.
The new role of buffet?
“I think they will be unanimous,” Buffett said on Sunday about the decision of the board of the board.
Buffett and Abel told CNBC’s Becky Quick after the shareholders’ meeting that the pair of Wold discussed during the Sunday Board meeting, which will be formal the role of Buffett next year. Buffett is currently also chairman of the conglomerate.
Warren Buffett speaks during the annual shareholders’ meeting of Berkshire Hathaway in Omaha, Nebraska on 3 May 2025.
CNBC
It is therefore not clear whether Abel will also take on the role of chairman. Buffett told the Wall Street Journal earlier this year that he is howie Buffet after his death would not become chairman to maintain the corporate culture. It is not clear whether this step will influence that decision.
“I am surprised, but it prints me,” said Ron Olson, director of Berkshire, after the shareholders’ meeting on Saturday. “I would like to see Warren being seen the Charlie Muger for Greg Abel.”
After the surprise announcement that apparently Abel did not even know that there would be, the meeting ended with a standing ovation for Buffett.
The crowd responds during the annual shareholders’ meeting of Berkshire Hathaway in Omaha, Nebraska on May 3, 2025.
CNBC
This is the latest news. Come back for updates.
– With reporting by Lisa Kailai Han and Fred Imbert
