Warren Buffett steps down as Berkshire Hathaway chairman

Warren Buffett announced Friday he will step down as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway , the company he has led for over 60 years.

The billionaire investor, who recently turned 96, will remain on the company’s board as chairman emeritus. He named his son, Howard G. Buffett, as the next chair, effective immediately.

In a letter to Berkshire shareholders on Friday morning, Buffett called his time as chairman “the privilege of a lifetime.”

“Father Time always wins. He has, however, been generous with me,” he wrote.

“He has given me the opportunity to see Berkshire reach a point where I am more confident than ever about what lies ahead,” the billionaire continued. “The company is in excellent hands, and I look forward to remaining a shareholder alongside you.”

Buffett has led the sprawling conglomerate, which is worth $1 trillion, since 1965.

Berkshire CEO Greg Abel commended Buffett’s long years of service to building this company in a statement shared with shareholders Friday.

“Warren’s impact on Berkshire and its owners is without parallel in the history of American business,” Abel wrote. “The culture Warren built and the values he championed will remain at the heart of Berkshire, and Howard will be their guardian.”

Howard G Buffet, the investor’s middle child, has been a director at the company for 33 years.

The 71-year-old has also run the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, a private charitable foundation that was recognized in TIME Magazine’s 2026 philanthropy list for its response efforts in Ukraine following Russia’s invasion in 2022.

“Howard cares deeply about Berkshire, as do all of our Directors,” his father wrote in the letter to shareholders on Friday. “No company has been or will be more shareholder-minded than Berkshire.”