Warren Buffett has stepped down as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, ending more than six decades leading the conglomerate, with his eldest son, Howard Buffett, succeeding him as non-executive chairman.
Buffett, 96, has been named chairman emeritus and will remain on Berkshire’s board, where he is expected to continue providing advice and perspective. Howard Buffett, 71, has served as a director since 1993 and will focus on preserving Berkshire’s corporate culture rather than overseeing its day-to-day operations.
The change marks another stage in a succession process that began with Buffett’s decision to step down as chief executive. Greg Abel, 64, took over as CEO at the start of 2026 after being identified as Buffett’s successor in 2021.
According to Reuters, Buffett had transformed Berkshire from a struggling New England textile company into a conglomerate worth about $1.1 trillion, with businesses ranging from insurance and railways to energy, manufacturing and retail. The company also holds hundreds of billions of dollars in publicly traded shares.
In a letter to shareholders, Buffett said he remained positive about what lay ahead, while acknowledging that age had brought the transition closer. He also noted that he had recently seen his one-year-old great-grandson, who was already moving faster than he could.
Under Abel, Berkshire has begun to take a different direction while retaining the decentralised management structure associated with Buffett. Abel has direct oversight of several business lines and has already made major investment decisions, including a $16.8 billion purchase of homebuilder Taylor Morrison and an increased stake in Alphabet.
Howard Buffett’s role is instead centred on maintaining the principles that have shaped Berkshire. He has previously described the company’s culture as keeping things simple, treating managers and shareholders fairly, respecting those running its businesses and being upfront about bad news.
The transition comes as investors assess Berkshire without Buffett in either of its two top leadership positions. The company ended June with US$364.7 billion in cash, giving Abel considerable capacity for further acquisitions and investments, while Berkshire shares had lagged the S&P 500 by about 11 percentage points in 2026 through Thursday.
