Warren Buffett is stepping down as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway after 56 years in the role, the company announced today.
He becomes chairman emeritus, effective immediately, and will remain a member of the board.
His son Howard Buffett will replace him under a long-standing succession plan.
The 96-year-old announced the decision in a letter to shareholders. “Father Time always wins,” he wrote, adding that time had been generous to him.
He called serving as chairman the privilege of a lifetime and said he was stepping aside partly because CEO Greg Abel has exceeded his expectations.
Abel said Buffett’s impact on Berkshire and its owners is without parallel in American business history, and that Howard Buffett will be the guardian of the culture and values Warren built.
He said he looks forward to continuing to work with Buffett, with Howard as chairman and Susan Decker remaining lead independent director.
Howard Buffett has served on Berkshire’s board since 1993. Berkshire shares were little changed following the news.
A gradual handover
The chairman change completes a transition that began in May 2025, when Buffett told shareholders at the annual meeting that Abel should take over as CEO at the end of the year. Berkshire said at the time that Buffett planned to keep the chairman title.
Buffett has remained active in the business. In July, he revealed that he was the driving force behind Berkshire’s big investment in Alphabet.
After a $10 billion private stock purchase in June, the Google parent is now Berkshire’s third-largest holding, behind Apple and American Express.
Buffett has been chairman since 1970 and has led Berkshire since 1965, when he began using it as his main investment vehicle.
He took over a failed New England textile mill at age 34 and built it into a roughly $1 trillion conglomerate. Berkshire has posted a 19.7% compounded annual return under his leadership, nearly double that of the S&P 500.
Its holdings include the BNSF railway, Geico, Fruit of the Loom, Benjamin Moore, Duracell and Dairy Queen.
Known as the “Oracle of Omaha,” Buffett is among the world’s richest individuals, with a net worth estimated at about $145 billion.
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