Warren Buffett steps down as Berkshire Hathaway chairman after more than 50 years

(TNND) — Warren Buffett is stepping down as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway after holding the position at the multinational conglomerate for more than five decades.

Buffett, 96, will immediately become chairman emeritus while remaining on Berkshire Hathaway’s board, the company announced Friday. His son, Howard Buffett, will take over as chairman as part of a long-planned succession.

Howard Buffett has served on Berkshire Hathaway’s board since 1993. Greg Abel, Buffett’s longtime successor, became CEO of the company at the start of the year.

I have served Berkshire since 1965,” Buffett wrote in a letter to shareholders. “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.

Buffett, who has chaired Berkshire Hathaway since 1970, said he is confident in Abel and Howard Buffett’s leadership.

“Greg runs the company; Howard will guard its culture and values – both worth more than anything on our balance sheet,” Buffett wrote. “Think of Howard as a policy the shareholders own and hope never to claim against.”

Buffett built Berkshire Hathaway into a $1 trillion conglomerate and remains one of the world’s most influential investors. His personal fortune, largely tied to Berkshire stock, was worth more than $140 billion in July, according to Forbes.

He has donated roughly $66 billion worth of Berkshire stock since 2006.

During Buffett’s tenure as CEO, Berkshire Hathaway posted a 19.9% compounded annual growth rate, nearly double the S&P 500’s 10.4% return, according to the company.

“Warren’s impact on Berkshire and its owners is without parallel in the history of American business,” Abel said in a prepared statement. “The culture Warren built and the values he championed will remain at the heart of Berkshire, and Howard will be their guardian.”