Warren Buffett to step down as CEO by year-end, hands Berkshire Hathaway reins to Greg Abel

INTERNATIONAL: Warren Buffett, the 94-year-old investing legend behind Berkshire Hathaway, will be stepping down as CEO by the end of the year.

The Edge Singapore reported that Mr Buffet made the announcement during the company’s annual shareholder meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, on Saturday, surprising the board and even his named successor, 62-year-old Greg Abel, vice chairman for the company’s non-insurance operations.

He also noted that he would still “hang around” to help, but the final decision on company operations and capital deployment will be Mr Abel’s.

In 1965, Mr Buffett, who believed that becoming a CEO was never tied to having a college or university degree, transformed what was once a struggling textile business into a conglomerate now worth more than US$1.16 trillion (about S$1.51 trillion), with businesses including BNSF Railway, Geico, See’s Candies, and Dairy Queen.

While the company reported a steep 14% drop to US$9.64 billion in its first-quarter results on Saturday, due to losses in its insurance unit from the California wildfires, its larger holdings in Treasury bills helped boost investment income.

However, in its earnings report, as cited by CNBC, the company stated that “considerable uncertainty remains” regarding its future operating results due to the impact of ongoing macroeconomic and geopolitical events, as well as changes in industry and company-specific factors or events. /TISG