Warren Buffett exits as Berkshire Hathaway CEO. What happens next as the Oracle of Omaha ‘goes quiet, sort of’?

Warren Buffett, the Oracle of Omaha, exited as CEO of the American holding company Berkshire Hathaway at the age of 95, after a 60-year tenure, as was planned on the last day of 2025. The legendary investor and philanthropist will remain as the company’s chairman. In his final Thanksgiving letter to shareholders on 10 November he had said “As the British would say, I’m ‘going quiet.’ Sort of.” Buffett will also stop writing Berkshire’s annual reports and ‘talking endlessly’ at shareholder meetings, having transformed what was once a struggling textile company into a $1 trillion-plus conglomerate.

Not a complete withdrawal: What Warren Buffet said on his exit as CEO

On his health, Buffett, who will continue annual Thanksgiving messages to shareholders and his children, had said: “To my surprise, I generally feel good. Though I move slowly and read with increasing difficulty, I am at the office five days a week where I work with wonderful people.”

Reflecting on his 60-year journey, Buffett reminisced about his partnership with Charlie Munger, who passed in 2023, and key investment moves, like taking a stake in insurance firm GEICO.

“Decide what you would like your obituary to say and live the life to deserve it,” he said in his final ‘Thanksgiving letter’, asking leaders to prioritise legacy over short-term gains.

What will Buffett do now?

Besides continuing as Berkshire chariman, Buffett, who holds about $149 billion in its stock, plans to donate the vast majority of it before his death. He converted 1,800 Class A shares into Class B shares - a category he had introduced - for distribution to four family foundations: The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, The Sherwood Foundation, The Howard G Buffett Foundation, and NoVo Foundation.

Who will succeed Buffett?

Greg Abel will now take over as the CEO of Berkshire. “He has more than met the high expectations I had for him when I first thought he should be Berkshire’s next CEO,” Buffett said.

Abel, a Canadian accountant, joined Berkshire in 2000 via its acquisition of MidAmerican Energy and has overseen non-insurance units.

As Buffet leaves, Berkshire is sitting on a large cash pile but he had words of caution: “No matter how serene today may be, tomorrow is always uncertain.”

Warren Buffett: Life and investment career

Warren Edward Buffett was born on 30 August 1930 in Omaha, Nebraska, during the Great Depression to a US congressman and stockbroker, Howard Homan Buffett. He bought his first stock, of Cities Service, at the age of 11, and filed his first tax return at 13, famously deducting his bicycle as a work expense.

By high school, Buffett ran ventures like newspaper delivery and pinball machines, earning $5,000.

Buffett attended the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business but transferred to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, graduating at 19 with a business degree. He earned a master’s in economics from Columbia Business School in 1951, studying under Benjamin Graham, who is known as the father of value investing.

Buffett followed Graham’s principles such as buying undervalued stocks with a “margin of safety”. He worked at Buffett-Falk & Co. and as a securities analyst at Graham-Newman Corp until Graham’s retirement.

In 1956, aged 25, Buffet launched Buffett Partnership Ltd in Omaha with $105,100. He made annualised returns of 29.5 per cent through 1969. He dissolved the partnerships in 1969 and returned capital to investors.

How Warren Buffett turned around Berkshire Hathaway

What is now Berkshire Hathaway is a New England firm that started in 1839 as a textile manufacturer named Valley Falls Company. It was declining in the 1960s due to foreign competition. In 1962, Buffett started buying shares in Berkshire Hathaway. He gained control of the company by 1965, and ousted the management after a dispute over a tender offer. From textiles, Buffett moved the company to insurance, acquiring National Indemnity in 1967. Berkshire's initial acquisitions were See’s Candies and Buffalo Evening News, starting a period of buying “wonderful businesses at fair prices.”

His major investments and acquisitions include Coca-Cola, GEICO, BNSF Railway, and stakes in Apple, making an unexpected tech play. Other acquisitions such as Nebraska Furniture Mart, Borsheims, Precision Castparts and Duracell also bore frruit for Berkshire.

Under Buffett, Berkshire shares rose dramatically over decades. By 2025, Berkshire Hathaway became one of the first non-tech American companies to hit a $1 trillion market capitalisation. At the close of the year, its Class A shares were trading around $755,400. That's a massive growth from 1965’s $19 per share.

Berkshire outperformed the S&P index in many of the years through 2023. Today, it is a diversified conglomerate including insurance, railroads, energy and consumer goods with about 400,000 employees. Buffett’s annual letters to shareholders, and speeches, became investing gospel, where he blended humour, lessons, and transparency.

Buffett lived frugally even as he was among the world’s richest

Buffett’s net worth has been among the highest in the world, peaking near $150 billion in late 2025, making him among the top 10 richest people globally. But he never showed off his wealth, living frugally in his 1958 Omaha home, and drawing a modest salary. He chose long-term value investing, compound interest, and ethical management over aggressive trade practices.

He has donated billions via the Giving Pledge initiative since 2010.

Who will lead Berkshire now?

Greg Abel, a Canadian accountant who joined Berkshire in 2000 via MidAmerican Energy, which is now Berkshire Hathaway Energy, rose to leadership in 2008 and was named Buffett’s successor in 2021, officially becoming CEO from New Year's Day of January 2026. Investment duties will primarily go to Ted Weschler and Todd Combs, who have been portfolio managers since around 2010. Ajit Jain remains vice chairman of insurance.

Buffett will stay as chairman, ensuring continuity.