Buffett, 96, Steps Down as Berkshire Chair; Son Howard Elected

Berkshire Hathaway said on September 18, 2026 that Warren E. Buffett, 96, has been named chairman emeritus, effective immediately, and that its board has elected his son, Howard G. Buffett, as chairman. Warren Buffett remains a member of the board, and Susan L. Decker continues as lead independent director, according to the company's release. Howard Buffett has been a Berkshire director since 1993.

The change completes a handover that began in the CEO's office. CNBC reported that the announcement comes a little more than nine months after Greg Abel took over as CEO, and that Buffett first told shareholders he would leave the CEO job at Berkshire's annual meeting in May 2025. In the letter attached to the release, Buffett explained the timing through Abel: "He has been making the decisions that matter for some time now, and I have not had to think twice about any of them," he wrote, adding that "the timing is right to complete the transition." The Associated Press reported that Buffett had held the chairman's title since 1970.

Buffett set out how the two roles divide: "Greg runs the company; Howard will guard its culture and values – both worth more than anything on our balance sheet," he wrote. "Think of Howard as a policy the shareholders own and hope never to claim against." Berkshire's release says Howard Buffett has led the Howard G. Buffett Foundation - focused on global food security and conflict mitigation - as chairman and chief executive since 1999, and spent nearly a decade as a UN Goodwill Ambassador Against Hunger for the World Food Programme. Abel, speaking for the board, said Buffett's "impact on Berkshire and its owners is without parallel in the history of American business."

Scale is what makes the personnel note matter. CNBC puts Berkshire's value at about $1 trillion, with a 19.7% compounded annual return under Buffett, nearly double the S&P 500's, $44.5 billion in operating earnings last year and close to 400,000 employees. The market reaction was small: at 12:16 p.m. Eastern on September 18, Class B shares traded at $508.20, roughly 0.2% below Thursday's close of $509.20, according to Yahoo Finance data, while Class A stock was near $761,693, about 0.3% below its Thursday close. US markets were still trading, so these are intraday levels rather than closing prices. CNBC notes the stock is up about 1% in 2026 while the S&P 500 has gained more than 11%.

What the release does not settle is what chairman emeritus means day to day: it says only that Buffett will stay on the board and "continue to offer his valued judgment and perspective," with no timetable for further board changes. "Father Time always wins," Buffett wrote. "He has, however, been generous with me." The next scheduled read on the new structure is Berkshire's third-quarter earnings; the second-quarter report came on August 8, 2026.

This article is for information only and is not investment advice.