Warren Buffett said Saturday that he will step down as the head of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) at the end of this year, ending a storied investing career that saw him beat the market year after year and earned him the nickname “Oracle of Omaha.”
Buffett, Berkshire’s CEO and chairman, said he will recommend to the board that Greg Abel, long his heir apparent, take over as CEO. Abel is currently the chairman and CEO of the company’s energy business and the vice chairman of Berkshire’s non-insurance operations.
“I think the time has arrived where Greg should become the chief executive officer of the company at the end of the year,” Buffett, 94, said during Berkshire Hathaway’s closely watched annual meeting in Omaha.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether Abel would also take over the chairman role. The duo will discuss at a Sunday board meeting what Buffett’s role might be going forward. Buffett said he would “hang around” to help, but that Abel would have the final say.
“I think the prospects of Berkshire will be better under Greg’s management than mine,” Buffett said during the meeting. Earlier on Saturday, Buffett said he hoped Abel was “still running things” 50 years from now.
Speaking during the meeting, Abel said he has a hands-on managerial style. He said he wants to make sure managers are talking to each other and sharing knowledge and experience. Abel emphasized reinvesting in existing businesses, acquiring businesses outright, and buying stakes in public companies.
“We will continue to move forward with a very similar or identical philosophy to what we’ve had for the past 60 years,” Abel said.
Buffett sounded on board: “It’s working way better with Greg than it did with me,” he said. “I just didn’t want to work as hard as he does.”