Legendary investor Warren Buffett on Monday revealed a letter to shareholders letting them know he will likely be handing off the duties of writing Berkshire Hathaway’s annual report and talking at shareholder conferences to his successor, Greg Abel.
Buffett, the 95-year-old chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, wrote that, “I will no longer be writing Berkshire’s annual report or talking endlessly at the annual meeting. As the British would say, I’m ‘going quiet.’ Sort of.”
Ticker Safety Final Change Change % BRK.B BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC. 496.98 -2.08
-0.42%
“Greg Abel will become the boss at yearend. He is a great manager, a tireless worker and an honest communicator. Wish him an extended tenure,” Buffett wrote about Abel, who he and the board selected as his successor.
“I will continue talking to you and my children about Berkshire via my annual Thanksgiving message. Berkshire’s individual shareholders are a very special group who are unusually generous in sharing their gains with others less fortunate. I enjoy the chance to keep in touch with you,” Buffett added.
BUFFETT DONATES $6B IN BERKSHIRE STOCK TO 5 FOUNDATIONS: LIFETIME GIVING TOPS $60B
Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett despatched a letter to shareholders discussing his plans as he prepares to step down. (Christopher Goodney/Bloomberg by way of Getty Photographs)
Buffett wrote about his confidence in Abel to guide Berkshire Hathaway, saying that Abel “has more than met the high expectations I had for him when I first thought he should be Berkshire’s next CEO.”
Warren Buffett chosen firm insider Greg Abel to succeed him as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. (Daniel Acker/Bloomberg by way of Getty Photographs)
“He understands many of our businesses and personnel far better than I now do, and he is a very fast learner about matters many CEOs don’t even consider. I can’t think of a CEO, a management consultant, an academic, a member of government – you name it – that I would select over Greg to handle your savings and mine,” he added.
Buffett stated that he plans to speed up the sale of his Berkshire shares to hurry up his tempo of giving to his kids’s foundations, saying that the transactions “in no way reflects any change in my views about Berkshire’s prospects.”
WHO IS GREG ABEL, WARREN BUFFETT’S SUCCESSOR AT BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY?
Ticker Safety Final Change Change % BRK.A BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC. 744,500.10 -3,819.90
-0.51%
He additionally stated that he plans to retain a few of his “A” shares of Berkshire inventory “until Berkshire shareholders develop the comfort with Greg that Charlie [Munger] and I long enjoyed. That level of confidence shouldn’t take long.”
Buffett stated that Berkshire’s companies “have moderately better-than-average prospects, led by a few non-correlated and sizable gems,” and that the conglomerate “has less chance of a devastating disaster than any business I know.”
The person who earned the nickname the “Oracle of Omaha” mirrored on his success in enterprise and in life. He inspired readers to take their errors in stride and “learn at least a little from them and move on. It is never too late to improve.”
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Buffett provided recommendation to readers in his shareholder letter. (Daniel Zuchnik/WireImage)
“Greatness does not come about through accumulating great amounts of money, great amounts of publicity or great power in government. When you help someone in any thousands of ways, you help the world. Kindness is costless but also priceless. Whether you are religious or not, it’s hard to beat The Golden Rule as a guide to behavior,” Buffett wrote.
“I write this as one who has been thoughtless countless times and made many mistakes but also became very lucky in learning from some wonderful friends how to behave better (still a long way from perfect, however). Keep in mind the cleaning lady is as much a human being as the Chairman,” he added.
“I wish all who read this a very happy Thanksgiving. Yes, even the jerks; it’s never too late to change. Remember to thank America for maximizing your opportunities. But it is – inevitably – capricious and sometimes venal in distributing its rewards,” he wrote.
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“Choose your heroes very carefully and then emulate them. You will never be perfect, but you can always be better,” Buffett wrote.
