Warren Buffett is stepping down as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway after more than 60 years guiding the conglomerate, Berkshire said in a statement Friday, NBC News reported. Buffett was named chairman emeritus effective immediately, with his son Howard G. Buffett taking over as chairman.
“As Chairman Emeritus, Mr. Buffett will remain a member of the Board of Directors and will continue to offer his valued judgment and perspective,” Berkshire said. The move comes just eight months after Buffett stepped down as CEO and was replaced by longtime lieutenant Greg Abel — at which point the company had said Buffett planned to keep the chairman title.
“Father Time always wins,” Buffett, now 96, wrote Friday in a letter to shareholders. “He has, however, been generous with me.” He noted he has “served Berkshire since 1965” and became chairman in 1970. Even recently he remained an active investor: in July he told CNBC Berkshire had initiated an Alphabet stake now worth more than $27 billion — Berkshire’s fifth-largest holding — while Apple remains its largest, worth almost $80 billion as of Thursday.
Sources: NBC News
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