Berkshire Hathaway Completes Leadership Transition — Warren Buffett Becomes Chairman Emeritus, Son Howard Takes Board Chair
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Warren Buffett will continue to serve as a Berkshire director.
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Howard Buffett was elected Chairman after serving on Berkshire’s board since 1993.
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Susan Decker remains Lead Independent Director, while Greg Abel continues as CEO.
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A, BRK.B) announced Friday that Warren Buffett has become Chairman Emeritus, effective immediately, while his son Howard Buffett has been elected Chairman of the Board. Warren Buffett will remain a director and continue offering his judgment and perspective to the company.
Buffett’s Berkshire Tenure Spanned More Than Six Decades.
In a letter accompanying the announcement, the Oracle of Omaha said, “I have served Berkshire since 1965. Sixty-plus years in, I still have the best job in the world. That is not something many people my age can say, and I have never felt better about what comes next.”
Transition From Warren Buffett To Greg Abel Complete
The move completes another stage of Berkshire’s leadership transition after Greg Abel took over as CEO at the start of 2026. In his letter, Buffett said, Abel has “taken hold of the Chief Executive Officer job in every respect,” adding that the timing was right to complete the transition. “My expectations for him were sky high from the start, and he has exceeded them”, he added.
In Berkshire’s latest annual shareholder letter, Abel credited Buffett with building the company’s insurance foundation following the 1967 acquisition of National Indemnity and then using insurance float to expand investments across major parts of the U.S. economy.
Abel also described the company Buffett built with Charlie Munger as one designed to endure beyond its founder-led era, emphasizing Berkshire’s decentralized structure, long-term ownership approach and capital-allocation discipline.
Howard Buffett To Guard Berkshire’s Culture
Howard Buffett has served as a Berkshire director for 33 years, having joined the board in 1993. Warren Buffett drew a clear distinction between the roles of his son and Abel, writing: “Greg runs the company; Howard will guard its culture and values.”
Howard Buffett has chaired the Howard G. Buffett Foundation since 1999 and has previously served on boards including Coca-Cola, Archer Daniels Midland and ConAgra Foods.
Friday’s reshuffle clarifies that succession architecture: Abel runs Berkshire, Howard Buffett chairs the board, Warren Buffett remains involved as Chairman Emeritus and a director, and Susan Decker will continue as Lead Independent Director.
Buffett signed off, saying the company is in excellent hands. “I look forward to remaining a shareholder alongside you,” he said.
Meanwhile, Berkshire Hathaway Inc Class B (BRK.B) shares were trading marginally in the red in Friday’s premarket. So far this year, the stock has risen over 2%. In comparison, the State Street Financial Sel Sec SPDR ETF (XLF) has risen nearly 2% over the same period.
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Harshita Tyagi has no position in any of the stocks mentioned in this article. StockTwits’ news team content is for informational purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. For more, see our editorial policy. This article was originally published on StockTwits.
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