Warren Buffett relinquishes Berkshire Hathaway chair at 96

Warren Buffett stepped down as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, but still plans to stay involved in the business. — Image credit: Daniel Zuchnik/WireImage

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Warren Buffett is stepping down as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, but he’s not retiring yet. The 96-year-old investment mogul and philanthropist said he’ll remain with the company as chairman emeritus and as a director in an announcement Friday morning.

“Serving as your Chairman has been the privilege of a lifetime, and I have never taken your trust for granted. Father Time always wins. He has, however, been generous with me,” Buffett wrote. “The company is in excellent hands, and I look forward to remaining a shareholder alongside you.”

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Buffett said that he is stepping down now for two primary reasons: new CEO Greg Abel, who succeeded him in late 2025, exceeded his “sky high” expectations.

“He has been making the decisions that matter for some time now, and I have not had to think twice about any of them,” Buffett wrote.

Buffett acknowledged his age as the other factor, noting that his one-year-old great-grandson is moving faster than he is.

The company’s board of directors elected Buffett’s son, Howard Buffett, to take over as chairman, effective immediately. Howard has also long served Berkshire Hathaway, holding a seat on its board of directors since 1993.

“Warren’s impact on Berkshire and its owners is without parallel in the history of American business,” Abel said in Friday’s announcement. “The culture Warren built and the values he championed will remain at the heart of Berkshire, and Howard will be their guardian.”

The “Oracle of Omaha” took over Berkshire Hathaway in 1965, transforming it from a small New England textile company to the billion-dollar company it is today. Over his tenure, the company’s market value grew more than 19% annually, far outpacing the broader stock market.

“Sixty-plus years in, I still have the best job in the world,” Warren Buffett wrote. “That is not something many people my age can say, and I have never felt better about what comes next.”

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Ally Heath

Ally Heath is a senior digital producer for Straight Arrow based in Utah. She covers the West, including the region's water crisis.

Tags: Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett

Why this story matters

Warren Buffett's exit as Berkshire Hathaway chairman places a new leadership structure in charge of one of the largest and most widely held companies in the U.S.

New chairman takes over

Howard Buffett, a board member since 1993, assumed the chairmanship immediately, changing the governance structure of a company held in millions of American investment portfolios.

CEO already leading

Greg Abel, who became CEO in late 2025, has been making major decisions for some time, according to Warren Buffett's statement.

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Behind the numbers

Berkshire's compounded annual return under Buffett was 19.7% versus the S&P 500's 10.4%. Berkshire's share price rose more than 5,500,000% since the 1960s compared with roughly 39,000% for the S&P 500. Berkshire's cash pile stood at $365.5 billion in Q2, down from a record $397 billion. Q2 operating profit rose 16% to $12.98 billion and net income more than doubled to $25.67 billion. Buffett has donated roughly $66 billion in stock since 2006 and plans to dispose of his roughly $140 billion Berkshire stake by 2034.

Community reaction

According to CFRA Research analyst Cathy Seifert, investors still have questions about how well Abel will deploy Berkshire's massive cash pile, saying it would be "naive to assume that this is business as usual." Brian Jacobsen of Annex Wealth Management said the transition "feels more like the completion of a carefully planned succession than a sudden changing of the guard." Berkshire shares dipped slightly after markets opened and have gained only about 1% in 2026, compared with the S&P 500's roughly 11-12% return.

Context corner

Buffett took control of Berkshire in 1965 when it was a struggling New England textile manufacturer, becoming chairman in 1970. Over six decades he transformed it into a $1 trillion-plus conglomerate spanning insurance, railroads, energy and consumer brands. Berkshire's annual shareholder meeting became known as the 'Woodstock for Capitalists,' drawing tens of thousands of investors to Omaha each year.