Berkshire Splits the Chairman and CEO Roles as Buffett's Son Howard Takes the Gavel
Published on 09/20/2026 at 14:11 | Editorial boerse-global.de
Berkshire Hathaway's boardroom underwent its most consequential reshuffle in decades on Friday, when the conglomerate named Warren E. Buffett chairman emeritus effective immediately and elevated his son, Howard G. Buffett, to the chairmanship. The elder Buffett, who had held the post since 1970, stays on the board of directors in an advisory capacity.
Howard G. Buffett is no newcomer to the oversight body — he has sat on Berkshire's board since 1993. With his elevation, the company formally separates the chairman's role from that of chief executive, a division of duties that leaves Greg Abel running day-to-day operations. Abel, who took the CEO job at the start of 2026, continues to steer a group with more than a trillion dollars in assets.
The handover follows a succession blueprint the company had mapped out over many years, and it drew little more than a shrug from investors. On German trading venues, Berkshire shares finished Friday at EUR 665,000.00, a dip of 0.1%. The stock is now trading just 3.1% below its 52-week high, and it has added 4.4% since the start of the year.
A Fortress Balance Sheet Behind the New Lineup
The incoming leadership inherits a cash position most corporations can only dream of. Berkshire's cash pile stood at USD 365.5 billion at the close of the second quarter, down from a record USD 397.4 billion three months earlier. Operating profit, meanwhile, climbed 16% year over year to USD 12.98 billion, up from USD 11.16 billion in the same period a year ago.
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The company also rediscovered its appetite for deals and buybacks in the early summer. It repurchased roughly USD 4.5 billion of its own stock during the second quarter and made net stock purchases of nearly USD 20 billion. On July 24, Berkshire closed its acquisition of U.S. homebuilder Taylor Morrison, a transaction valued at USD 8.5 billion.
Japan Stays in the Portfolio — and May Grow
On the strategic front, management has been signaling continuity rather than a break with the past. Roughly two weeks ago, Masahiro Okafuji, chairman of Japan's foreign trade council, said Berkshire intends to hold its stakes in the five major trading houses — Mitsubishi, Sumitomo, Mitsui, Marubeni and Itochu — for the long haul and is even weighing a further build-out. Berkshire owns more than 10% of each of the five.
Abel has also used recent weeks to sketch out other priorities, reiterating the conglomerate's interest in Japanese trading companies and commenting on opportunities in the data center space. Portfolio adjustments had already been underway before the boardroom news: about a month ago Berkshire expanded its position in Alphabet, and more than a month ago it lifted its stake in the New York Times.
Personnel changes have reached the operating units as well. At Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance, the group's insurance arm, Jennifer Smith was appointed on September 14 to lead client and broker relationships across the U.S. Southeast region.
With Abel holding the reins of the business and Howard G. Buffett chairing the board, Berkshire has drawn a firm line between oversight and operations — while the elder Buffett remains on hand to lend his counsel.
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