Buffett Exits the Chairman's Seat After Six Decades as Son Howard Takes the Helm

Warren Buffett, 96, hands the Berkshire Hathaway board chair to son Howard; Greg Abel runs daily operations after Q2 operating profit rose 16%.

Warren Buffett has stepped down as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway's board, closing a chapter that spanned more than sixty years at the top of the American conglomerate. The 96-year-old relinquished the post on Friday and will carry the title of Chairman Emeritus, while his eldest son, Howard G. Buffett, assumes the role of Non-Executive Chairman. Howard, 71, has sat on the board since 1993.

The handover at the board level completes a succession that had been years in the making. Greg Abel took over day-to-day leadership in January, and Buffett told shareholders in a letter that the transition has worked exactly as intended—Abel has fully assumed the CEO's duties and is the one calling the shots. With operations running smoothly under the new chief executive, Buffett judged the moment right to finish reorganizing the group's top ranks.

A Deliberate Division of Labor

The new structure draws a clear line between oversight and execution. Abel manages the conglomerate's daily business and capital allocation, while Howard Buffett's mandate is explicitly cultural rather than operational: safeguarding the decentralized model that has defined Berkshire for decades. Warren Buffett, who acquired the company in 1965 and chaired the board from 1970, is not walking away entirely—he remains a director and holds more than 13% of the shares, along with roughly 30% of the voting rights.

For shareholders, the reshuffle reads above all as continuity. Confidence in Berkshire's existing structures remains the cornerstone of how the roughly $1.1 trillion conglomerate is valued.

Earnings Momentum Behind the Transition

The leadership change lands on a solid operating foundation. Operating profit climbed 16% year over year to $12.98 billion in the second quarter of 2026, with gains in energy, railroad and industrial businesses offsetting a weaker insurance result. The manufacturing, services and retail segment was the standout, adding 24% to reach $4.47 billion, while Berkshire Hathaway Energy lifted its operating result 27% to $891 million.

Insurance underwriting moved the other way, with earnings falling 13% to $1.73 billion. Total net income, meanwhile, doubled over the same period to $25.67 billion. The group also agreed in late July to acquire homebuilder Taylor Morrison for about $6.8 billion in equity value, a move aimed at expanding its real estate footprint.

Management has ample firepower for further deals or buybacks: cash and equivalents stood at $364.7 billion at the end of the second quarter.

Markets Take the News in Stride

Trading in Berkshire's Class A shares was notably calm following the announcement. The stock closed Friday's European session down 0.1% at EUR 665,000.00, leaving it just 3.1% below its 52-week high of EUR 686,000.00.

Attention now shifts squarely to how the new leadership performs. While Howard Buffett guards the company's values from the boardroom, Abel must show that Berkshire can defend its market-leading position without the legendary investor chairing the oversight body. The next checkpoint comes on November 2, 2026, when the conglomerate reports third-quarter results.