End of an era: 96-year-old Warren Buffett steps down from Berkshire Hathaway – The $365 billion and the successor

"End of an era" for Berkshire Hathaway, as Warren Buffett steps down at the age of 96 from the position of chairman of the investment giant he himself transformed over six decades. The legendary investor, who took over the company in 1965 and led it into a conglomerate valued at around $1 trillion, now moves to the role of chairman emeritus, while remaining on the board of directors. His son, Howard Buffett, will replace him as chairman, as envisioned by Berkshire's long-standing succession plan. Susan Decker will continue to serve as the lead independent director of the board. "Time always wins," Buffett wrote. "However, it has been generous with me. It gave me the opportunity to see Berkshire reach a point where I am more confident than ever about what lies ahead." His decision comes a little over nine months after Greg Abel, 64, took over as CEO, while Buffett had retained the chairmanship. Buffett had first announced his departure from the CEO role at Berkshire's annual meeting in May 2025, surprising the crowd of thousands of attendees despite his advanced age. "The culture that Warren created and the values he defended will remain at the heart of Berkshire, and Howard will be their guardian," Abel said in the company announcement. "Greg runs the company. Howard will protect its culture and values, both of which are worth more than anything on our balance sheet," wrote Buffett. "Think of Howard as an insurance policy that belongs to the shareholders and which we hope we never have to activate."

The legacy of Buffett

Buffett's legacy in building Berkshire, based in Omaha, Nebraska, is unparalleled in the American business world. He took over a failing New England textile mill at just 34 years old and over the next six decades turned it into a financial and industrial powerhouse, with $44.5 billion in operating profits last year and nearly 400,000 employees. During Buffett's tenure, Berkshire recorded an average compound annual return of 19.7% for shareholders, nearly double the return of the S&P 500.

Active chairman

As chairman this year as well, Buffett remained active within the company. Abel told CNBC in March that Buffett was still coming to his office in Omaha daily and that the CEO still frequently sought his expert advice. In May, Buffett participated in the company's famous annual meeting, delivering brief remarks from his seat and granting an interview to CNBC's Becky Quick. It was the first "Woodstock for Capitalists," as the meeting had become known, that was not chaired by Buffett, but presided over by Abel. In July, Buffett revealed to CNBC that he was the person behind Berkshire's major recent investment in Alphabet. The parent company of Google now constitutes Berkshire's third-largest equity holding, behind Apple and American Express, following a private stock purchase of $10 billion in June. In the same interview, Buffett noted that he had broken his leg a few weeks earlier, but was in the process of recovering well. Buffett had acknowledged the growing limitations brought on by his age as he prepared to hand over the reins to Abel last year. In a Thanksgiving letter to shareholders, he had written: "To my surprise, I generally feel good. Although I move slowly and read with increasing difficulty, I am in the office five days a week."

Berkshire underperforms in 2026

Berkshire shares have struggled this year, and Buffett's departure from the chairman role puts even more pressure on Abel to achieve strong results. The stock has gained just 1% in 2026, while the S&P 500 has posted gains of over 11%. Higher oil prices and investor preference for higher-growth market segments are partly responsible for this picture. However, shareholders are also waiting to see if the new CEO will prove as effective as Buffett in deploying the company's substantial capital. For now, investors would likely be satisfied if Abel utilized a larger portion of the company's $365.5 billion cash stockpile to buy back more Berkshire shares. He has already begun doing so, increasing share repurchases to $4.5 billion in the second quarter.

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