Warren Buffett to step down as Berkshire Hathaway CEO by year’s end, leaving Greg Abel in charge

Warren Buffett told thousands of shareholders in Omaha that he was able to become the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway by the end of 2025. He said this straight to a packed arena that gave him a standing stole.

Warren has been running the company for 55 years, longer than any other chief executive of an S&P 500 company. He said it was time. The Board will now prepare to appoint Greg Abel as the next CEO.

Warren confirmed that he would stay close and “bang around,” but Abel would be the final decision. Warren will not sell his shares. He said maintaining all his shares was not emotional, it was because he believed that Berkshire was actually performing better under Greg's administration.

“The decision to keep every part is an economic decision because I think Berkshire prospects will be better under Greg's management than me,” Warren said.

Buffett and Abel have identified the board to decide on future duties

Warren and Greg said Becky quickly from CNBC after the meeting the company board will meet on Sunday to find out what Warren's formal role is. Today, Warren is both chairman and CEO. If Greg gets the same titles or the CEO only is still in the air.

Warren held all of these officials at Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting, drawing nearly 40,000 people. The event also marked his 60th year leading to the company. Hillary Clinton attended. Warren did not endorse anyone in politics after him. He has stopped doing this in recent years to avoid harming Berkshire businesses with controversy.

At the same meeting, Warren did not stop when asked about President Donald Trump's trade policies. He warned most that using trade as a weapon could bring true global consequences. “Trade should not be a weapon,” Warren said. “There is no question that trade can be an act of war.”

He said Trump's heavy use of tariffs was angry with other countries, and could create an uneasy. Warren said: “This is a big mistake in my view when you have 7.5 billion people you don't like properly, and you have 300 million compressing about how they have done.”

He said countries should be committed to doing what is best of them and free trade. “We should look for trading in the rest of the world. We should do the best we do and they should do the best they do,” he said to the crowd. He also said that the world becomes safer when more countries are prosperous.

Berkshire holds cash while Buffett waits for the right price

Warren told shareholders that Berkshire Hathaway is currently sitting at $ 347.7 billion in cash. He said he didn't see a lot of investments he understood or finds attractively -now. So the company is holding money.

But he believes that a time will come when that cash will be needed. He said by that time, Berkshire was “bombs of opportunities for us to enjoy that we have cash.”

Warren also spoke about the long history of changing the country. He said the United States has gone through many revolutions since the beginning, and while equality did not come early, he remains optimistic in the country's future. “If I was born today, I just keep arranging in the womb until they say, 'You can be in the United States,'” Warren said.

When it comes to Greg Abel, the shareholders don't worry. Steven Check, who runs check capital management, Greg said it has been proven. He said businesses under Berkshire's umbrella are often running on their own and Greg is not available.

“I think we'll get more hands-on manager and can be a good thing,” Steven said. “But he also knows that those managers are pleased with the freedom to run their businesses and Abel will not do anything to kill them.”

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