Greg Abel will take over as CEO and president of Berkshire Hathaway on January 1, 2026, and the company's board of directors confirmed after closely following the shareholder meeting in Omaha, Nebraska this weekend that Warren Buffett, 94, announced his retirement, shocked the crowd of 40,000 investors and covered the 55-year period during which he provided 5,000,000 percent of the 55-year period. Abel, 62, has long been considered Buffett's heir, and was officially recognized by the board after Buffett publicly announced it was “time” for leadership transition.
Buffett will continue as chairman and said he has no plans to sell any of his $160 billion stake in Berkshire Hathaway, and makes it clear that his confidence in Abel goes far beyond symbolic meaning. “The decision to retain each part is an economic decision because I think Berkshire's prospects will be better than mine under Greg's management.”
Abel's rise to Warren Buffett's heir is obvious
Canadian executive Greg Abel was born in Edmonton and began his career in the energy field after studying at the University of Alberta and playing hockey at a young age. His climb began with Calenergy in 1992, which will continue to acquire Central American Energy. Abel became Midamerican's CEO in 2000, the same year Berkshire Hathaway purchased the controlling shares. The company was renamed Berkshire Hathaway Energy in 2014, and Abel is now chairing it.
In 2018, Abel was appointed to the board of directors of Berkshire Hathaway and appointed Vice Chairman to oversee all non-insurance operations. Abel, long considered the quiet heir to Buffett, has won the trust of legendary investors through his management of major subsidiaries, including the fruit of the loom, See's Candies and Precision Castparts. Buffett praised Abel's relentless work ethics and hands-on management style, noting that his chosen successor “works harder than I do.”
Abel's Challenge Future
Abel's first major test as CEO will be managing Berkshire Hathaway's stunning $400 billion cash pile (an unprecedented war box) demanding a savvy distribution in a turbulent high-speed market. Although Abel said he will follow Buffett's general script, investors are paying close attention to his differences. Will Danoff of Fidel told Wall Street Journal. “Stock shareholders want Greg to be the best Greg Abel he can be.”
It is an understatement to say that Abel has big shoes to fill. Not only is Buffett the CEO of a former textile company with a $1.1 trillion conglomerate, but he is a former investor of the century whose decision has shaped the perspectives of capital, value and patience throughout the generation. His influence was so huge that Investopedia Keep a short list of favorite Buffett books, which he hasn't actually written. His face is an evergreen fixture for every Barnes & Noble business unit. Buffett's right-hand man, Charlie Munger, died in 2023, and he died at the age of 99, occupies an equally respectable position in the Pantheon of Investment.
In this case, Abel not only took over a company, but also inherited the estate. Although Buffett never wrote a book, he wrote shareholders as a masterclass of business philosophy, and Abel said he planned to carry that torch that continues the tradition of clear, long, long remains, blending operational insights with eternal investment wisdom.
