In between talk of trade wars and tariffs at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder meeting this weekend stood a more generational question — one about what, and who, comes next for the Omaha-based conglomerate.
That question became more urgent after Warren Buffett, the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway for 55 years — and now 94 years old — told a stunned crowd that he’d step down at the end of the year.
“I think the time has arrived where Greg should become the chief executive of the company at year end,” he said.
Buffett was referring to one of his top hands, Greg Abel.
Abel, 62, has been Berkshire Hathaway’s vice chair of non-insurance operations since 2018. He’s also chair of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, which Buffett hailed as one of the conglomerate’s four “jewels” in his annual shareholder letter in 2021, the same year Buffett first tapped Abel as his successor.
While Buffett’s approval is a major plus, the company’s board of directors will ultimately decide on his successor.
Investors and shareholders expect that if Abel does assume the role, he will maintain Berkshire Hathaway’s investment philosophy. He told shareholders at this weekend’s meeting that he would start by maintaining the company’s “fortress of a balance sheet,” which allows it to make large investments without relying on banks, Barron’s reported.
Abel is known, however, for having a more hands-on management style than Buffett.
He was estimated by Forbes to be worth $484 million in 2021. In 2022, he sold his 1% stake in the company’s Berkshire Hathaway Energy unit for $870 million.
Abel has risen through the ranks with a persistent focus on energy.
The Canadian native played hockey in his early years and attended the University of Alberta. He graduated in 1984 with a degree in commerce.
He joined PwC after graduation and quickly moved on to a small company called CalEnergy. In 1999, CalEnergy acquired MidAmerican Energy and adopted its name. That same year, Berkshire Hathaway bought a controlling interest in MidAmerican Energy. Abel took over the reins of MidAmerican in 2008 — renamed Berkshire Hathaway Energy in 2014 — and helmed it until 2018.
He’s also served on the board of several major companies, including Kraft Heinz, and has been affiliated with organizations and institutions like the Mid-Iowa Council Boy Scouts of America, Drake University, American Football Coaches Foundation, and the Horatio Alger Association.
He lives in Des Moines, Iowa. Those who’ve spotted him at a hockey rink in town, watching his son practice, say he comes across as a “regular guy,” the Des Moines Register reported.
Buffett also has a reputation as a folksy and down-to-earth person, living in Omaha, Nebraska.
At Berkshire Hathaway, succession doesn’t seem to be just about handing over a job. With the title, Buffett said he’s passing down traditions — like writing letters — and a mindset, too.
In Berkshire Hathaway’s 2024 annual report, Buffett wrote, “At 94, it won’t be long before Greg Abel replaces me as CEO and will be writing the annual letters. Greg shares the Berkshire creed that a ‘report’ is what a Berkshire CEO annually owes to owners. And he also understands that if you start fooling your shareholders, you will soon believe your own baloney and be fooling yourself as well.”
