Warren Buffett shocked the arena full of shareholders when he announced his intentions on Saturday Step Down He was CEO of Berkshire Hathaway at the end of the year.
The legendary 94-year-old investor also said he would encourage Greg Abel to become CEO.
Buffett said he believes Abel “has come” to move to the corner office at an annual shareholders’ rally, often referred to as “Woodstock for capitalists.”
“I’m still hanging out and maybe in some cases it’s useful, but then the last thing that Greg said was what he said, operations, capital, appointments, whatever it was,” Buffett said.
Two other investment managers will take charge of the company’s stock portfolio.
Buffett repeats Reassuring investors He is confident in his pick, but who is his designated successor, Greg Abel?
Who is Greg Abel?
Warren Buffett I said it in 2021 Longtime Li and energy executive Greg Abel, who is his top leader for years, will become CEO when he retires. Buffett also famously said he had no plans to retire.
Abel, who now oversees all Berkshire non-insurance companies, was born in Alberta, Canada, according to the 2016 executive’s Fortune Profile. Former amateur hockey players and avid golfers joined Berkshire in 2000 when the insurance company acquired MidAmerican. Abel was CEO of Iowa Utility, a local energy provider with sales of just $122 million.
Bloomberg
Abel, who was once in Berkshire, rebuilt Central America into Berkshire Hathaway Energy, the country’s largest producer of wind energy. Berkshire utility businesses generate billions of dollars in annual revenue.
Abel was appointed vice-president of Berkshire Hathaway in 2018. He has been in the company for over 20 years, and he is considered far more protected and practical than Buffett.
“I think we’ll get more practical managers, but that might be a good thing,” Stephen Check, who runs Check Capital Management, said in advance, according to the Associated Press. However, he said Abel also knows that those managers enjoy the freedom to run the business and Abel is not going to do anything to turn them off.
Abel has been highly praised by Berkshire managers, and Buffett has praised his business insights over the years, the AP said. However, he will struggle to match Buffett’s legendary performance, and he won’t be able to afford that much as he doesn’t control 30% of Berkshire’s stock like Buffett.
Abel lived in Omaha Six years Just a few blocks from Buffett in the 1990s. Buffett said they had never met during that time.
Kate Gibson contributed to this report.
