Business Leaders React to Warren Buffett Stepping Down

Warren Buffett said he would resign as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway after 55 years, causing tributes to investors and business leaders.

Buffett, 94, made this announcement on Saturday at the annual meeting of the company shareholders in Omaha, Nebraska. The crowd gave Buffett two standing ovations, recognizing his career as the oldest director general of a S&P 500 company.

“The enthusiasm shown by this answer can be interpreted in two ways,” joked Buffett before leaving the scene. He said that he intended to resign at the end of 2025 and recommended to the board of directors that Greg Abel, now vice-president of the company, took the post of CEO.

Buffett has remained a lasting force as an investor and businessman for decades. He bought Berkshire Hathaway in 1965 as a textile mill in New England and transformed him into a conglomerate of 1 Billion of Dollars which extends over several industries. Berkshire Hathaway has companies like Geico, Dairy Queen and Fruit of the Loom, and was a major investor in companies like Apple and Bank of America.

After the announcement of Buffett, business leaders around the world shared tributes.

Tim Cook

The CEO of Apple congratulated Buffett in an X post on Saturday.

“There has never been someone like Warren,” wrote Cook. “This is one of the great privileges of my life to know him. And there is no doubt that Warren leaves Berkshire in big hands with Greg.”

Jamie Dimon

Dimon, the director general of JPMorgan Chase and an element of Wall Street, congratulated Buffett in a message after the big announcement of the investor.

“Warren Buffett represents everything that is good in American capitalism and America itself-investing in the growth of our nation and its companies with integrity, optimism and common sense,” he said, by Reuters. “I have learned from him so much to date, and I am honored to call him a friend.”

Bill Gross

The billionaire investor and co-founder of Pimco, Bill Gross, told Business Insider by e-mail that the vision of Buffett distinguished him from other investors.

“His vision was not limited to an optimistic vision of the future,” Gross to Bi told Gross. “Thanks to his insurance assets, according to their structure, the investment of premiums at an almost zero cost in higher return assets such as Coke, Amex and Apple and, in doing so, he has created a propagation which over time has led to billions and recognition not only as a stock selector but as a financial structural magician.”

Gross also congratulated Buffett and recalled for X the first time that his business granted Berkshire one of his first loans in the mid -1970s.

“I didn't know anything about insurance and candy stores, but I was sold by its long -term vision of the economy and markets,” wrote Gross. “Congratulations my friend – not only for figures – but for philanthropy and years. Having a coke cherry with you was a highlight of my career.”

Mark Cuban

Cuban told Business Insider in an email that Buffett was his “investment hero” and shared a photo of him with the legend of investment in a dairy queen in Omaha.

“We used to go to DQ to Omaha,” wrote Cuban. “It was the highest point of my year.”

After the announcement, Cuban also republished on X a video showing Buffett receiving a standing ovation during the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway.

Spencer Hakimian

Hakimian, the founder of Tolou Capital Management, shared a video on X of Buffett receiving a standing ovation from the crowd at the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway.

“The curtain calls the captain,” wrote Hakimian.

Ron Olson

Olson, a member of the Berkshire board of directors, told CNBC that Buffett had “lived a life full of surprises.

Olson also thought that “is ready” for the role.

“I have no doubt about it. We have known it for a long time,” Olson said at the point of sale.

French hill

The member of the Congress and the former Business Man of the Arkansas Gop told CNBC that Buffett, Abel and Berkshire Hathaway “have done a magnificent job in the last decade to prepare shareholders for today”.

Hill added that he admired Buffett since his college days.

“When I got out of the government in 1993 and returned to the private sector in investment management, it was Warren Buffett who was my model – a man I have never met personally, but I admired all these years,” said Hill at the point of sale.

It is a story in development. Come back for updates.