Warren Buffett Steps Down as Berkshire Hathaway Chairman After Six Decades

Warren Buffett is stepping down as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway after an extraordinary six-decade run at the conglomerate.

The 96-year-old investor will become chairman emeritus effective immediately and will stay on Berkshire’s board of directors. His son, Howard Buffett, who has served on the board since 1993, will take over as chairman, while Greg Abel remains chief executive.

The move comes roughly nine months after Abel succeeded Buffett as CEO. “Father Time always wins,” Buffett wrote in a letter to shareholders, and added that he is highly confident about Berkshire’s future.

Buffett transformed Berkshire from a struggling textile company into a conglomerate valued at around $1 trillion, with businesses spanning insurance, railroads, energy, manufacturing and retail, alongside a huge stock portfolio.

The leadership transition puts even more attention on Abel and how he deploys Berkshire’s enormous financial resources.

At the end of June, Berkshire’s insurance and other businesses held $359.2 billion in cash, cash equivalents and US Treasury bills, net of unsettled purchases. The company also held $340.8 billion in equity and fixed-income securities.

Berkshire has already started putting more of that capital to work. It spent $4.8 billion repurchasing its own stock during the first six months of 2026, with most of those purchases occurring during the second quarter.

The conglomerate also pursued acquisitions. Berkshire completed its approximately $9.4 billion purchase of OxyChem in January and acquired homebuilder Taylor Morrison for roughly $6.8 billion in July.

Those moves could become more important as investors judge Berkshire in the post-Buffett era. The company’s shares have gained only around 1% in 2026, compared with a rise of more than 11% for the S&P 500.

Buffett may no longer run Berkshire or chair its board, but his influence is unlikely to disappear quickly.