Warren Buffett Steps Down as Berkshire Chairman, Names Son to Replace Him

bell-cot

Best wishes and all. But given Berkshire's scale, and the son's age (71), questions about the next succession plan seem appropriate. Also, since the NYT says nothing else about the son: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Graham_Buffett In context, his recent involvement in local politics seems rather odd.

theplumber

So after all no one could be trusted

kittikitti

People take what he does and says as gospel so knowing he went with monarchy tier nepotism is going to be very annoying.

dugmartin

I guess Warren’s quote only applies to other people, not him. "It’s like choosing the 2020 Olympic team by picking the eldest sons of the gold-medal winners in the 2000 Olympics." ( https://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/14/us/dozens-of-rich-america... )

keiferski

Buffett has been planning this since at least 2011: CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- Warren Buffett has told the CBS News program "60 Minutes" that after he dies, he wants his son to become non-executive chairman of Berkshire Hathaway. Howard Buffett, a farmer with no college degree, would be a good successor, the elder Buffett said, because he understands the values of the company. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/warren-buffett-wants-farmer...

hn9zmdcaou

Sat on a couple of boards and the non exec chair mostly just guards the culture and can fire the CEO. Abel runs the business. That's a very different job from Howard's.

BennyBallTC

Many people do not know this but he still holds the stock that he first bought as a 13y old. It is now worth 8+ figures!

dominotw

Warren Jong-il

mrlonglong

Nepo dynasty. It'll all burn eventually.

andrewstuart

I think it would be tedious to be that wealthy. You’d spend all your time managing the money and associated stresses. A super comfortable life with enough money to get you to 105 years old that all you need.

rib3ye

https://archive.ph/E24O9

jjallen

There's a big difference between keeping all of your ownership and giving it to the son and paying a huge salary and making him non-executive chairman while giving away most of your wealth.

iambateman

A lot of negativity here on Buffett. I doubt any mega-billionaire is a total saint, but by comparison Warren seems like a guy who tried to do good in the world. We should hope for fewer billionaires, but as long as we have them, we should hope for more Warrens.

PowerElectronix

He had a good record with his pick until this one.

lvl256

A legend through early 2000s. The game changed starting 2013-14 and he never adjusted. Bailed or undervalued a bunch of tech names that could have yield 2-3x his actual return. Recent example is them bailing on TSM because of Chinese invasion fears.

gorfian_robot

Berkshire HQ has exactly 27 people. so I think those comments about culture are spot on. but the issue of "what would walt/steve/warren do?" will eventually bite you in the ass.

frozenseven

Instantly reminded me of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_67JbvXLrmw (I'm not hating on Buffet/Berkshire)

Zaraif13

To anyone who owns BRK-B shares (or BRK-A if you have that kind of money), over the next decade your money will likely grow on par with if not at a slightly higher rate than keeping it in an S&P 500 Index fund. Regardless of board or management changes, BRK will stay a better long term bet than an index fund. Both options have similar amounts of risk.

ta20240528

Nothing quite as important in life as picking your parents well.

snapplebobapple

Is this the same son that was a drug addict for a long time or am i misremembering history?