Warren Buffett, the billionaire investor and philanthropist, has announced his intention to retire at the end of this year. He is 94 years old.
Buffett, the fifth richest person in the world, shocked an arena full of shareholders on Saturday when he announced that he would step down as the CEO and chair of the trillion-dollar conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway at the end of 2025. He will recommend to the 11-person board that his vice-chair, Greg Abel, who currently oversees most of the company’s investments, be named as his successor, Buffett said.
The thousands of investors at the arena in Omaha, Nebraska, gave Buffett a lengthy standing ovation in recognition of his 60 years leading the company.
“I think the time has arrived where Greg should become the chief executive officer of the company at year end,” Buffett said.
“I have no intention – zero – of selling one share of Berkshire Hathaway. I will give it away eventually,” Buffett said. “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 made the announcement at the end of a five-hour question-and-answer session, and did not take any queries about his retirement plans. The only board members who knew about the announcement in advance were his children, Howard and Susie Buffett, he said. Abel, who was sitting next to Buffett on stage, was unaware, but stood to join the crowd in applauding his boss.
Abel, 62, who was born in Alberta, Canada, has been Buffett’s designated successor as CEO since 2001. He is a 25-year Berkshire veteran and already manages all of the conglomerate’s non-insurance businesses including dozens of fossil energy, chemical, real estate and retail operations. But despite Buffett’s advanced age, the announcement came as a shock as the Berkshire CEO has previously insisted that he had no plans to retire.
Buffett has led the Omaha-based company since 1965, and is credited by many with transforming Berkshire from a flailing textiles manufacturer into a $1.03tn conglomerate with dozens of businesses in insurance, railroad, energy and other sectors.
Buffett, a Democrat, has previously said that he plans to donate 99.5% of his remaining wealth to a charitable trust overseen by his daughter and two sons when he dies. According to Forbes, Buffett has a net worth of $165.3bn.
Earlier on Saturday, Buffett, warned about the dire global consequences of Donald Trump’s tariffs, telling thousands of investors gathered at the annual meeting that “there’s no question that trade can be an act of war”.
Buffett said Trump’s trade policies have raised the risk of global instability by angering the rest of the world.
“It’s a big mistake in my view when you have 7.5 billion people who don’t like you very well, and you have 300 million who are crowing about how they have done.
“We should be looking to trade with the rest of the world. We should do what we do best and they should do what they do best,” he said.
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In February, Berkshire reported a third straight record annual operating profit, rising 27%, to $47.44bn, in 2024. It’s unclear what impact Trump’s tariffs will have on Berkshire’s 189 operating businesses and shareholder profits.
Buffett, a longtime Democratic mover and shaker, did not endorse Kamala Harris in 2024 or Joe Biden in 2020. He had previously endorsed Barack Obama twice and Hillary Clinton.
Buffett has faced his share of controversies including anti-trust investigations and criticism from fire victims after Berkshire’s PacifiCorp utility failed to shut off power lines during a Labor Day weekend windstorm in 2020, leading to deadly wildfires spreading in Oregon and northern California.
Speaking before the retirement bombshell, Abel said that “keeping the lights on” is no longer a priority for the conglomerate’s utilities when the threat of wildfires becomes excessive.
“It’s around protecting the general public and being sure the fire doesn’t spread further,” he said.
