Succession plans in 870 billion dollars Berkshire Hathaway took center stage Saturday as thousands of shareholders attended the firm's annual meeting in Omaha.
Investors asked Berkshire's 93-year-old chairman, Warren Buffett, about what would change when Berkshire's vice chairman, Greg Abel, 61, who has been with the firm for 25 years, succeeds Buffett as CEO. Abel was named Buffett's successor in 2021.
Buffett said Abel is now “responsible for everything but insurance” and has “the same feel” as Buffett when it comes to “judging the attractiveness of businesses and making capital decisions and things like that.”
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Greg Abel, vice president of non-insurance operations at Berkshire Hathaway. Photo: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images
For the first time, Buffett also indicated that he would like Abel to have control of the company 335.9 billion dollars investment portfolio as chief executive when the time comes.
“I think the responsibility has to be entirely with Greg,” Buffett saidstating that although he “used to think differently about how responsibility should be handled,” having “200 people around who are managing a billion each just doesn't work.”
of previous plan Buffett's message was that after Abel became CEO, Berkshire investment managers Ted Weschler and Todd Combs would handle the investments. Combs it is also CEO of Geico.
While addressing investment scrutiny at the meeting, Abel assured shareholders that Berkshire's investment principles “will continue to outlive Warren.”
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Berkshire's culture “is not going to change,” Abel said at the shareholder meeting.
Buffett he didn't say or indicated anything about stepping aside. This is his 60th The shareholders' meeting since he took over Berkshire in 1965 and the first since Vice Chairman Charlie Munger passed away in November at 99.
Buffett's February annual letter it was partly a tribute to Munger.
Berkshire's first quarter resultsreleased ahead of the meeting, show the company's operating profits rose 39% to a record $11.22 billion.