Warren Buffett is stepping down as chair of Berkshire Hathaway, the company that he took from a faltering textile manufacturer into a $1tn conglomerate over the course of 60 years.
Buffett’s son, Howard, 71, will take over as chair. Buffett, 96, cited his age as the main reason behind the transition, noting that he has a one-year-old great-grandchild who is “moving a bit faster than I am these days”.
“Serving as your chairman has been the privilege of a lifetime, and I have never taken your trust for granted,” Buffett, 96, said in a letter to shareholders. “Father Time always wins. He has, however, been generous with me. He has given me the opportunity to see Berkshire reach a point where I am more confident than ever about what lies ahead.”
Buffett said he will remain as chair emeritus and a director on the board. He left his post as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway in May 2025, shocking the audience of thousands at the company’s annual shareholder meeting in Omaha, Nebraska. Greg Abel, vice–chair of the company, replaced him as CEO.
Known as the “Oracle of Omaha”, Buffett built a reputation as a sharp-eyed investor, building up Berkshire Hathaway into a $1tn conglomerate. The company owns dozens of companies in construction, manufacturing, consumer goods and insurance, along with being a major investor in some of the biggest companies on the stock market, including Nvidia, Apple, Amazon, Alphabet and Meta.
Bloomberg places Buffett’s net worth at $145bn, making him the 10th richest person in the world.
Howard Buffett, known as “Howie”, is Buffett’s second child out of three and was long planned to be his father’s successor as chair of the company, having served on the board since 1993.
“He is getting it because he’s my son,” Buffett told the Wall Street Journal in January 2025. “I’m very, very, very lucky in the fact that I trust all three of my children.”
In a statement, Abel said that Buffett’s impact on the company “is without parallel in the history of American business”.
“The culture Warren built and the values he championed will remain at the heart of Berkshire, and Howard will be their guardian,” he said.
