Warren Buffett's Next Chapter: What's the Oracle of Omaha Likely to Do Next?

In an announcement at Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s (BRK.A, BRK.B) May 2025 annual shareholder meeting that surprised even his chosen successor, Warren Buffett made it official: He’s passing the torch for the $1.2 trillion empire he built at year’s end. While Greg Abel was designated his successor in 2021, Berkshire’s vice chair of non-insurance operations said he was nevertheless caught off guard, along with the Berkshire investors and Buffett fans in the audience. It’s long been assumed Buffett would serve until his death.

“I would still hang around and conceivably be useful in a few cases, but the final word would be what Greg said,” Buffett told shareholders. So what is next for the world’s most famous investor?

The Buffett No-Exit Strategy

When 2026 rolls in and Abel takes the reins, Buffett isn’t going to be gone completely. While Abel will have the final word on company operations and capital deployment, Buffett will maintain several significant roles:

• Wisdom on call: Berkshire director Ron Olson expressed his hope that “Warren become the Charlie Munger for Greg Abel,” suggesting Buffett will serve as a sounding board and advisor, just as Munger did for him for decades.
• Crisis consigliere: “I could be helpful, I believe…if we ran into periods of great opportunity or anything,” Buffett told Berkshire shareholders.
• Committed investor: Perhaps most significantly for those squeamish about the future of a post-Buffett Berkshire, the “Oracle of Omaha” pledged not to sell any shares of his enormous stake in Berkshire, worth over $160 billion.
• Keeper of the flame: While he’ll be less involved in day-to-day management, Buffett will likely help guard Berkshire’s corporate culture and values. In early 2025, Buffett had said his son, Howie, would serve as nonexecutive chair of Berkshire to help in that role.

Forget Shuffleboard: Buffett’s Other Plans

While Buffett will stay with Berkshire as chair and advisor, his retirement will also let him focus more intently on his philanthropy, already one of history’s most ambitious charitable commitments. Buffett has pledged to give away 99% of his fortune, valued at about $160 billion, to philanthropic causes.

Buffett has been a major donor to the Gates Foundation, which focuses on global health, poverty alleviation, education, and addressing inequalities worldwide. He’s also putting substantial capital into foundations run by his children: the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, the Sherwood Foundation, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, and the NoVo Foundation.

The Bottom Line

For Buffett, this transition is not so much an ending as an evolution—stepping back from daily management while remaining a guiding presence at the company he transformed from a struggling textile business into one of the world’s most valuable enterprises. Though he’ll no longer be calling the shots, his legendary investment philosophy and business principles will still help shape Berkshire’s future.