Berkshire Hathaway said on Friday that Warren Buffett has been named chairman emeritus of the board, effective immediately. The 96-year-old investor remains a director and, according to the company, will continue to offer his judgment and perspective.

The board elected Howard G. Buffett, a Berkshire director since 1993, as chairman. Susan L. Decker remains lead independent director. Greg Abel continues as chief executive, a role he took at the beginning of 2026 after Buffett left the executive post.

In a letter to shareholders, Buffett wrote that he has served Berkshire since 1965 and became chairman in 1970. “Father Time always wins,” he said, adding that the timing is right to complete the transition. Of his son he wrote that Howard will “guard its culture and values” while Abel “runs the company.”

Speaking for the board, Abel described Buffett’s impact as without parallel in the history of American business and called Howard the “guardian” of the culture his father built. The official statement said the change follows a succession plan set out over several years.

Berkshire was transformed from a struggling textile business into a conglomerate with interests in insurance, energy, rail freight, manufacturing and retailing. Reports have described the group as having a market value on the order of $1 trillion; that is an order of magnitude, not a forecast.

For shareholders, the question remains how acquisition discipline, capital allocation and subsidiary autonomy will be kept. Naming successors provides formal continuity, not future results. This article is for information only and is not investment advice.

Image: Warren Buffett at the SelectUSA Investment Summit, 17 April 2015 / US International Trade Administration / Wikimedia Commons, public domain. Archive portrait, not Friday’s announcement. Cropped to 16:9.

Source consulted: Warren E. Buffett Becomes Chairman Emeritus | Berkshire Hathaway; Berkshire Hathaway names Warren Buffett as chairman emeritus | Reuters.