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Buffett steps down as Berkshire CEO; Abel will take over

Warren Buffett announced on Saturday that he would step down from his role as Berkshire Hathaway's chief executive at the end the year and give the reins over to Vice Chairman Greg Abel.

Buffett, who is 94 years old, told Berkshire's Annual Meeting that "I believe the time has come for Greg to become the CEO of the company by year end."

Buffett told his children about his plans, but Buffett said Abel wasn't aware.

Abel is a vice chairman of Berkshire since 2018 and Buffett's likely successor in the role of chief executive will be Abel.

Buffett said that he has "zero intention" of selling his Berkshire shares, and nearly all will be donated to charity after his death.

Buffett's decision to retire caps off a 60-year journey that saw him transform Berkshire into a massive conglomerate, with businesses in every sector of the U.S.

Buffett, with the help of his friend and business partner Charlie Munger who died in November 20,23, took over Berkshire and turned it into a success story in America.

Berkshire Hathaway, headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska where Buffett and munger grew up today, is a conglomerate worth more than $1 trillion with over 200 companies including Geico auto insurance, the BNSF railway, industrial and chemical firms, utilities, Dairy Queen ice-cream, Fruit of the Loom Underwear, and See's Candies.

Buffett is known as "the Oracle of Omaha" for his investment success, his folk wisdom and modest lifestyle.

Buffett has never left the home he bought in 1958 for $31,500.

Buffett was a student of Benjamin Graham, an economist and former professor. Graham stressed the importance of fundamentals of companies and the need to avoid overpaying for assets.

This approach made it difficult to use Berkshire's ever growing cash hoard of $347,7 billion as at March 31.

Abel began working for the former MidAmerican Energy (now known as Berkshire Hathaway Energy) in 1992, 8 years before Berkshire Hathaway took over. Later, he led the business for 10 years.

Buffett joked that he did all the work and I took the bows in a television interview from April 2023.

Forbes magazine estimates Buffett's fortune at $168.2 Billion. It would be much higher if he hadn't given away over half of his Berkshire stock to charity since 2006.

The rest of the remaining is expected to be used for a

New charitable trust

Susie, Howard and Peter are his sons.

Abel faces many challenges, including how to grow Berkshire without paying too much for acquisitions. He will also have to decide whether or not to pay a dividend as well as how to use the cash.

Buffett acknowledged in 2024 that the size of Berkshire would likely affect its growth prospects.

Berkshire has multi-billion dollar stakes in Apple, American Express, and Bank of America, among others.

Howard Buffett (70) is expected to succeed to his father in Berkshire as the non-executive Chairman, helping to preserve the company's cultural.

(source: Reuters)