Business · updated 31m ago · 3 min read
Warren Buffett Steps Down as Berkshire Hathaway Chairman, Howard Buffett Takes Over
Warren Buffett steps down as Berkshire Hathaway chairman after more than 50 years. Howard Buffett will become Berkshire Hathaway's new chairman immediately.
Whether Buffett’s health decline was highlighted.
2 of 3 outlets skipped it: buffett halted giving Berkshire shares to the Gates Foundation.
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The New York Post emphasises Buffett’s physical decline while CBS stresses no health issues were disclosed.
Buffett hands chair to Howard
Warren Buffett, 96, stepped down as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, becoming chairman emeritus while remaining on the company’s board, and his son Howard Buffett was named to take over the chairmanship under a long-planned succession plan.
““Father Time always wins,” Buffett wrote in the letter.”
In a letter to shareholders, Buffett wrote, “Father Time always wins,” and said he had been “generous with me,” as he described the opportunity to see Berkshire reach a point where he was “more confident than ever about what lies ahead.”
Berkshire said the transition was effective immediately, with Howard Buffett succeeding him as chairman and Susan Decker continuing as lead independent director.
The company also said Greg Abel remains chief executive officer, after Buffett’s earlier exit from the CEO role at the end of last year.
Multiple outlets tied the move to Berkshire’s decades-long leadership handover, including the fact that Howard Buffett has served on the group’s board of directors since 1993.
Abel praises continuity
Greg Abel, who is now chief executive officer, praised Buffett’s impact in a statement saying, “Warren’s impact on Berkshire and its owners is without parallel in the history of American business.”
Abel added that “The culture Warren built and the values he championed will remain the essence of Berkshire, and Howard will be its guardian,” framing the chair change as continuity for Berkshire’s approach to capital allocation.
Buffett, for his part, told shareholders he trusts Abel and Howard to lead Berkshire, writing that “Greg runs the company; Howard will protect its culture and its values, both worth more than anything on our balance sheet.”
Several reports emphasized that Buffett will remain involved as chairman emeritus, with the company saying he will stay on the board and offer “valued judgment and perspective.”
The transition also comes after Buffett announced his retirement as CEO at Berkshire’s annual meeting in May 2025, with Abel taking over the CEO role earlier this year.
Market and company stakes
Berkshire Hathaway is described across the reports as a “trillion-dollar-valued conglomerate,” with one account saying it is currently valued at about one trillion dollars and another noting it became one of the first non-tech companies valued at over a trillion dollars in 2024.
“The stock is up just 1% in 2026 as the S&P 500 has rallied more than 11%.”
The leadership change is arriving as investors watch Berkshire’s performance and cash deployment, with CNBC saying the stock is up just 1% in 2026 while the S&P 500 has rallied more than 11%, and it pointed to Abel stepping up repurchases to $4.5 billion in the second quarter.
CNBC also said Buffett’s exit as chairman raises the stakes for Abel further to perform, while noting that Buffett’s letter cited his own age and described a great-grandchild who had just turned one as “moving a bit faster than I am these days.”
Beyond the boardroom, the reports stressed Berkshire’s scale and workforce, including CNBC’s description of nearly 400,000 employees and $44.5 billion in operating earnings last year under Buffett’s tenure.
One outlet also framed Buffett’s departure as a move that would keep his influence central even after the chair change, quoting Abel that the culture and values remain at the heart of Berkshire as Howard takes over the chairmanship.