The first question posed to Warren Buffett during Berkshire Hathaway's shareholders meeting Saturday was about President Trump's tariffs. The investor was critical, Yahoo Finance reports. "We should be looking to trade with the rest of the world, and we should do what we do best, and they should do what they do best," Buffett said, "Trade should not be a weapon." The final topic, 5½ hours later, included an announcement that stunned the Omaha gathering. The 94-year-old, who always said he didn't intend to retire, told the crowd that he plans to step down as CEO at the end of 2025.
The chairman and CEO said he'll recommend to the board that Vice Chairman Greg Abel take over. "I think the time has arrived where Greg should become the chief executive officer of the company at year end," Buffett said, per the Washington Post. The announcement apparently was news not only to the shareholders, but to Abel. "Greg doesn't know anything about this until what he's hearing right now," Buffett said. Abel already manages Berkshire's noninsurance businesses, per the AP, and had been the designated successor. But the implication had been that he wouldn't take over everything until Buffett died.
"I would still hang around and could conceivably be useful in a few cases," Buffett elaborated. "But the final word would be Greg's." He said he'll give his Berkshire shares away eventually but doesn't plan to sell any in the meantime. "The decision to keep every share is an economic decision because I think the prospects of Berkshire will be better under Greg's management than mine," he said. Over 60 years, Buffett built the conglomerate into "a $1.1 trillion colossus," per the New York Times. He took no questions about his announcement, which was followed by a lengthy standing ovation from the thousands of shareholders in the Omaha arena. (More Warren Buffett stories.)
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