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 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, apparently had no warning.
Abel, 62, who was born in Canada, has been Buffett’s designated successor for years, and he already manages all of Berkshire’s non-insurance businesses. But despite Buffett’s advanced age, the announcement came as a shock as he 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”.
after newsletter promotion
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.
