Warren Buffett steps down as Berkshire Hathaway chairman; son Howard appointed successor
Warren Buffett, 96, stepped down as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway effective immediately, with his son Howard Buffett succeeding him in the role. Buffett becomes chairman emeritus while remaining on the board, as Greg Abel continues as CEO (a role he assumed in early 2026) and Susan Decker remains lead independent director.
This ends Buffett's six-decade leadership of the $1 trillion conglomerate he built from a struggling textile maker into a diversified giant spanning insurance, energy, railroads, manufacturing and retail. Under his tenure, Berkshire generated $44.5 billion in operating earnings last year and delivered a 19.7% compounded annual return to shareholders—nearly double the S&P 500's performance over the same period.
For Nigerian audiences, Berkshire's scale has been historically contextualized through comparisons to the national economy: Nairametrics reported in October 2024 that the company's cash reserves were 7.4 times Nigeria's external reserves and exceeded Nigeria's estimated GDP at an exchange rate of N1,500 to the dollar.
While Buffett framed the transition as 'Father Time always winning,' he expressed confidence in the company's future, with Abel stating that 'the culture Warren built and the values he championed will remain at the heart of Berkshire'.