Buffett hands over CEO title and 348 Billion Cash pile to Abel

Big surprise in Omaha

At the annual shareholder meeting this weekend Warren Buffett (94) announced that he will step down as CEO end of this year and hand over to Abel. "I think the time has arrived where Greg should become the chief executive of the company at year end,".

Greg Abel is a Canadian business executive and began his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers. He joined CalEnergy in 1992, which later became MidAmerican Energy and was acquired by Berkshire Hathaway. Abel rose through the ranks to become CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Energy in 2008 and was appointed vice chairman for non-insurance operations at Berkshire Hathaway in 2018. Known for his deep understanding of business operations, Abel is expected to uphold Berkshire’s long-standing principles, such as focusing on long-term investments and maintaining a decentralized corporate structure.

Buffett got standing ovations for his lifetime achievement with Berkshire, which is one of the worlds biggest and most successful companies which made many esrly investors rich. The past decade alone saw returns of +260%, outperforming the S&P 500 once again. Buffett is leaving not only the CEO to Abel but also a huge cash of almost $350B and a stock at ATH.

What is your feeling about this change? Will Berkshire remain the big player it is under the new CEO?

USA Today