Warren Buffett told Berkshire Hathaway shareholders that he plans to step down as CEO at the end of 2025 and recommended to the company’s board that his previously identified successor, Greg Abel, take over at that time, ending a 60-year career that created one of the greatest investment records of all time.
Buffett made the dramatic announcement at the end of the company’s annual shareholder meeting on Saturday, saying that it would come as a surprise to most of the board and Abel.
“The time has arrived,” Buffett said, “where Greg should become the chief executive officer of the company at year-end.”
Buffett said he would stay around and assist with anything he could be helpful with, such as major acquisitions or times of great opportunity, but the final decisions would be up to Abel. The tens of thousands of Berkshire shareholders in attendance, including Abel, gave Buffett a standing ovation following the announcement.
The day started with Buffett taking shareholder questions for more than four hours, with the legendary investor weighing in on various topics such as tariffs and the ongoing trade war, Berkshire’s large cash position and recent market volatility.
Here are the key takeaways from the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting.
Key takeaways from Buffett at the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting
1. Buffett to step down as CEO at end of 2025
Buffett’s surprise announcement that he plans to step down as CEO at the end of the year may not seem that shocking considering he turns 95 years old in August, but it’s the end of an era that saw him create massive amounts of wealth for Berkshire shareholders and play the role of wise counselor to world leaders, CEOs and everyday investors.
“There’s never been someone like Warren, and countless people, myself included, have been inspired by his wisdom,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a post on X. “It’s been one of the great privileges of my life to know him.”
The iPhone maker is the largest holding in Berkshire’s investment portfolio.
Buffett took control of Berkshire when it was a struggling textile manufacturer and transformed it into a massive conglomerate by investing and reinvesting the cash its businesses produced. Berkshire now has a market value of $1.16 trillion, making it one of the most valuable companies in the world, and its Class A shares closed at an all-time high of $809,350 on Friday.
“That’s the news hook for the day,” Buffett said following his announcement. “Thanks for coming.”
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2. Buffett not a fan of Trump tariffs and trade wars
The shareholder meeting was also the first time Buffett weighed in directly on the issue of tariffs and global trade, which have consumed investors in recent weeks.
“In the United States, I mean we should be looking to trade with the rest of the world, and we should do what we do best, and they should do what they do best,” Buffett said. “Trade should not be a weapon.”
Buffett also suggested that more global trade leads to greater peace and stability.
“With eight countries with nuclear weapons, including a few that are what I would call quite unstable, I do not think it’s a great idea to try and design a world where a few countries say ‘ha-ha-ha, we’ve won,’ and other countries are envious,” he said.
3. Recent market volatility is ‘nothing’
Buffett was asked if the recent market volatility resulting from the trade uncertainty has led to more investment opportunities for Berkshire, which sits on a mountain of nearly $350 billion in cash.
The recent drop in stock prices is “really nothing,” Buffett said. “This has not been a dramatic bear market or anything of the sort.”
“If it makes a difference to you whether your stocks are down 15 percent or not, you need to get a somewhat different investment philosophy,” Buffett said. “People have emotions, but you’ve got to check them at the door when you invest.”
4. Great investment opportunities come infrequently
Given Berkshire’s large cash position, shareholders also asked about the general prospects for putting that cash to work.
“The one problem with the investment business is that things don’t come along in an orderly fashion, and they never will,” Buffett said. “We’re running a business which is very, very, very opportunistic.”
Buffett has allowed Berkshire’s cash position to build in recent years as he’s struggled to find investments he deems attractive.
“We have made a lot of money by not wanting to be fully invested at all times,” Buffett said. “Things get extraordinarily attractive very occasionally.”
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5. Ignore distracting market forecasts
Buffett also chided market forecasters, an activity he considers useless and a distraction from what actually matters in business and investing.
“Nobody knows what the market is going to do tomorrow, next week, next month,” Buffett said. But people “spend all their time talking about it because it’s easy to talk about – but it has no value. I’ve never found anybody I wanted to listen to on the subject.”
