Warren Buffett, who built one of the most successful investment firms in history and became known as the sage of American capitalism, is stepping down as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, the company said on Friday.
Buffett, who turned 96 on 30 August, will become chairman emeritus with immediate effect, and will remain on Berkshire's board. His son, Howard Buffett, will become chairman.
"Serving as your Chairman has been the privilege of a lifetime, and I have never taken your trust for granted," Buffett wrote in a letter to Berkshire shareholders.
The move is the latest step in a long-planned leadership transition. Buffett stepped down as chief executive of the company at the end of last year, with longtime lieutenant Greg Abel taking over.
"Father Time always wins," Buffett wrote on Friday. "He has, however, been generous with me."
Six decades of value investing
Over roughly six decades at the conglomerate, Buffett grew Berkshire into a trillion-dollar powerhouse, running businesses including insurance giant GEICO and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad, alongside a vast investment portfolio holding stakes in blue-chip companies such as Apple and Coca-Cola.
Buffett became known as the "Oracle of Omaha" for his long record of investing success. He built Berkshire's fortune through what is known as value investing, ignoring fads and seeking undervalued companies to hold for the long term, a philosophy he distilled into an oft-repeated line: "We simply attempt to be fearful when others are greedy and to be greedy only when others are fearful."
Berkshire has amassed a cash pile of more than $360 billion, and every move it makes with its money is closely watched by investors, particularly since Abel took charge.
A tough act to follow
"Warren is obviously a hard act to follow," Abel wrote in his first letter to shareholders earlier this year. Buffett's annual letters, which mixed investment advice with folksy Midwestern aphorisms and observations on the world, and occasionally politics, were widely influential across Wall Street and Main Street alike. Tens of thousands of people travel to Nebraska every year to put questions to him at Berkshire's annual meeting, known as "Woodstock for capitalists."
"Warren's impact on Berkshire and its owners is without parallel in the history of American business," Abel said in a statement on Friday. "The culture Warren built and the values he championed will remain at the heart of Berkshire, and Howard will be their guardian." Howard Buffett, 71, has been a Berkshire director for more than 30 years.
Source: The New York Times
