Berkshire Hathaway shares fell Friday, a day after Warren Buffett, CEO left after 60 years of career.
The 95-year-old officially resigned Thursday and his successor Greg Abel, who started at Berkshire in 2000 and served as vice chairman of its board, took office Friday.
As of Friday afternoon, Berkshire Hathaway Class A shares were down 1.5% as of 3 p.m. ET.
During Warren’s final year as CEO, the conglomerate gained 10.9%according to CNBC.
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Shares of Berkshire Hathaway fell Friday, a day after CEO Warren Buffett stepped down after 60 years in office. (Daniel Zuchnik/WireImage/Getty Images)
“Berkshire is less likely to experience a devastating disaster than any company I know,” Buffett wrote in a farewell letter to shareholders in November. “And Berkshire has management and a board more concerned about its shareholders than almost any other. any company that I know (and I have seen many).
“Berkshire will always be managed in a way that makes its existence an asset to the United States and avoids activities that would cause it to become a supplicant. Over time, our leaders should become quite wealthy – they have significant responsibilities – but do not have the desire for dynastic or ‘look-me’ wealth.”
On a more personal note, at the end of his long letter, he declared: “Greatness does not not occur through the accumulation of large amounts of money, large amounts of publicity, or great power in government. When you help someone in a thousand and one ways, you help the world. Kindness is priceless but also priceless. Whether you’re religious or not, it’s hard to beat the Golden Rule as a guide to behavior. »
Buffett also praised Abel.
“Greg Abel has more than lived up to the high expectations I had for him when I thought he should be Berkshire’s next CEO,” he wrote. “He understands many of our businesses and people much better than I do, and he learns very quickly about topics that many CEOs don’t even consider.
Greg Abel officially became CEO of Berkshire Hathaway on Friday. (Dan Brouillette/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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“I can’t think of a CEO, management consultant, academic, government official – it doesn’t matter – that I would choose over Greg to manage your savings and mine.”
Buffett plans to remain president.
Buffett has been grooming Abel to become his successor for years, telling CNBC in 2021: “The directors agreed that if something happened to me tonight, it would be Greg taking over tomorrow morning.” »
Shareholders attend the annual shareholder meeting of Berkshire Hathaway Inc, in Omaha, Neb., May 3, 2025. (Reuters/Brendan McDermid)
He announced that he would step down at the end of the year in May, telling the crowd at his annual shareholders’ meeting: “I think the time has come when Greg should become the CEO of the company at the end of the year.”
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The 95-year-old took the reins of Berkshire in 1965 with the late business partner Charlie Munger, which was a failing textile company at the time.
The conglomerate is now worth more than $1 trillion, and Buffett is worth more than $168 billion, although he still lives modestly Nebraska House he bought it for $31,500 in 1958.