After six decades at the helm of Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett closed one of the most remarkable chapters in modern business in September 2026. At 96, the celebrated “Oracle of Omaha” stepped down as chairman and became chairman emeritus, leaving behind a company he had transformed from a struggling textile mill into a conglomerate valued at about $1.1 trillion. Greg Abel was already overseeing day-to-day operations as chief executive, while the role of non-executive chairman passed to Buffett’s eldest son, Howard.
Howard Buffett, 71, arrives in the role with a résumé that looks very different from his father’s. A Berkshire director since 1993, he has spent more than three decades absorbing the company’s philosophy from inside the boardroom. Beyond business, however, his interests have ranged across farming, conservation, photography and public service—including a stint as sheriff of Macon County, Illinois. He has also held executive roles at Archer Daniels Midland, served on the boards of companies including Coca-Cola and ConAgra Foods, and led global humanitarian work through the Howard G. Buffett Foundation.
His appointment completes a carefully prepared succession plan designed to keep Berkshire steady after its longtime leader’s departure. Howard will not run the company’s daily operations. Instead, as non-executive chairman, he is expected to serve as a guardian of the culture Warren Buffett cultivated: keeping business uncomplicated, dealing fairly with shareholders and managers, allowing subsidiaries room to operate, and speaking candidly—especially when the news is difficult.
For investors, the handoff brought little drama. Berkshire’s shares remained steady, suggesting confidence in a transition that had been years in the making. With Abel steering the businesses and Howard safeguarding the principles behind them, Berkshire Hathaway is beginning a new chapter—one intended to carry forward the foundation Warren Buffett spent a lifetime building.
Few names are as closely tied to investing as Warren Edward Buffett. Born on August 30, 1930, the American investor and philanthropist is now chairman emeritus and former chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway. His decades of success have made him one of the world’s best-known investors and, according to Forbes, his estimated net worth stood at US$148.9 billion in January 2026, placing him ninth among the world’s richest people.
Buffett’s story began in Omaha, Nebraska, where an early fascination with business and investing took root. The son of U.S. congressman and businessman Howard Buffett, he entered the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1947 and later graduated from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln at age 20. At Columbia Business School, he shaped his approach around Benjamin Graham’s principles of value investing. Further study at the New York Institute of Finance strengthened his economics background before he set out to build a career of his own.
That career unfolded through a series of business ventures and investment partnerships, including one with Graham. In 1956, Buffett established Buffett Partnership Ltd. His investment firm later acquired textile manufacturer Berkshire Hathaway, whose name would come to represent a far more diversified holding company. Buffett became chairman and majority shareholder in 1970; eight years later, longtime business associate and fellow investor Charlie Munger joined him as vice-chairman.
For more than half a century, from 1970 to 2026, Buffett presided over Berkshire Hathaway as chairman and its largest shareholder, helping turn it into one of America’s foremost holding companies and a leading global conglomerate. The fortune that followed earned him the media nicknames “Oracle of Omaha” and “Sage of Omaha,” yet he remained associated with value investing and personal frugality. His legacy also extends beyond business: after meeting philanthropist Chuck Feeney, Buffett pledged to give away 99 percent of his fortune. Through 2026, much of his giving went to the Gates Foundation, and in 2010 he joined Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates in founding the Giving Pledge, which encourages billionaires to donate at least half of their wealth.
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