Oracle Of Omaha Steps Down! Warren Buffett Ends 56 Year Run As Berkshire Chairman At 96

Warren Buffett, the “Oracle of Omaha”, stepped down as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway on Friday, September 18, after holding the position for 56 years. The 96 year old billionaire will remain on the board as chairman emeritus, while his son Howard Graham Buffett takes over as chairman of the $1 trillion conglomerate.

The move marks another major step in Berkshire Hathaway’s long planned succession. Buffett also ended his decades-long tenure as CEO at the end of 2025, handing the role to Greg Abel, who will continue as chief executive. Buffett had taken control of the then struggling New England textile company in 1965 and became its chairman in 1970.

Howard Buffett, 71, has been a Berkshire director since 1993. Born on December 16, 1954, and raised in Omaha, he followed a very different path from his father. Rather than building a career in investing, Howard began farming in Nebraska in 1977 before moving to Illinois, where he remained involved in agriculture and research farms linked to his foundation.

His work has focused heavily on conservation, agriculture and food production, with an emphasis on protecting soil and other natural resources. He has also travelled extensively, reportedly visiting 156 countries, while pursuing interests in photography and humanitarian work.

Howard has photographed conflicts and humanitarian crises around the world, with his books covering subjects including wildlife, poverty and human conditions. He has also travelled repeatedly to Ukraine since Russia’s full scale invasion in 2022, documenting the war and supporting humanitarian, agricultural and other relief efforts.

Alongside his agricultural and philanthropic work, Howard has extensive corporate experience. He joined Berkshire’s board in 1993 and has also served on the boards of companies including Coca Cola and Lindsay Corporation.

Warren Buffett said he was confident about his son and Abel leading Berkshire into its next phase. “Greg runs the company; Howard will guard its culture and values,” Buffett said, describing those values as being worth more than anything on Berkshire’s balance sheet.

Buffett also praised Abel’s performance as CEO, saying his expectations for Abel had been “sky high from the start” and that Abel had exceeded them. Buffett said Abel had been making important decisions for some time and that he had not needed to second guess those decisions.

In his shareholder letter, Buffett reflected on his more than six decades at Berkshire. “I have served Berkshire since 1965. Sixty plus years in, I still have the best job in the world,” he said. “I have never felt better about what comes next.”

Even after giving up the CEO position, Buffett continued visiting Berkshire’s Omaha office each day, looking for investments and deals and advising Abel. It remains unclear whether that routine will change now that he is chairman emeritus.

The transition will be closely watched because Berkshire has about $365 billion in cash. Investors are focused on how Abel will deploy the company’s enormous reserves and make capital allocation decisions without Buffett at the helm.

Buffett built Berkshire into one of the world’s most closely watched conglomerates through insurance, investments and acquisitions. In 2024, Berkshire became the first non tech company to cross a $1 trillion valuation.

During Buffett’s tenure as CEO, Berkshire delivered a 19.9 per cent compounded annual return, compared with 10.4 per cent for the S&P 500. Its investment disclosures have also regularly attracted attention across global financial markets.

Buffett’s Berkshire holdings made him one of the world’s wealthiest individuals. Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index currently estimates his fortune at around $145 billion, placing him among the world’s 10 richest people.

He has also become one of the world’s most prominent philanthropists, giving away roughly $66 billion worth of Berkshire stock since 2006. Earlier this year, Buffett said his three children would take over charitable decisions and distribute the remainder of his fortune by the end of 2035.

“Father Time always wins. He has, however, been generous with me,” Buffett wrote, adding that he had been given the opportunity to see Berkshire reach a point where he was more confident than ever about what lies ahead.