Economy News

‘Father Time always wins’: Warren Buffett, 96, hands Berkshire's chair to his son Howard

Warren Buffett, 96, is stepping down as chair of Berkshire Hathaway, the conglomerate he built from a failing textile maker into a company worth about $1tn, The Guardian and Al Jazeera report. His son Howard, 71, a board member since 1993, becomes chair; Buffett becomes chair emeritus with immediate effect and stays on the board. Al Jazeera notes the move comes nine months after he handed the chief executive role to Greg Abel.

“Serving as your chairman has been the privilege of a lifetime, and I have never taken your trust for granted.” — Warren Buffett, letter to shareholders, via The Guardian

The market took it calmly: Berkshire's Class B shares were down 0.3% in premarket trading, Al Jazeera reports. Berkshire remains the only financial firm in the trillion-dollar club, and its second-quarter operating profit rose 16% to $12.98bn.

How each outlet framed it

• The Guardian — the personal side: Buffett cited his age, joking that his one-year-old great-grandchild is “moving a bit faster than I am these days”. It recalls him telling the Wall Street Journal in 2025 that Howard was getting the job “because he's my son”.
• Al Jazeera — the succession itself: “more like the completion of a carefully planned succession than a sudden changing of the guard”, said Annex Wealth Management's Brian Jacobsen. Unlike his father, Howard will have no management role.

What we don't know yet: whether the “Buffett premium” investors have long given Berkshire's shares will survive his departure from the chair.