The businessman Warren Buffett, 94, announced this Saturday by surprise that he will leave the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway at the end of the year, as he has advanced .
The investor, who has been in charge of the company for 60 years and has made the announcement at the end of the Shareholders’ Board, has assured that not even Greg Abel himself, his successor, sitting next to him at the time of the announcement, knew it was going to happen. Nor did the other members of the Council know, except their children.
Buffett will continue to be the company’s shareholder and “around there”, but the responsibility will fall on Abel, as has appealed the same medium. “I would add that the decision to conserve all actions is an economic decision, because I believe that Berkshire’s prospects will be better under the direction of Greg than under mine,” said Buffet. The Olo businessman will detach from actions for donations he performs as a philanthropist.
“Commerce cannot be used as a weapon”
Before this announcement at the annual meeting of investors around the world of conglomerate in Nebraska (USA), the businessman had already spoken and warned that “trade cannot be used as a weapon” but did not mention President Donald Trump at any time.
“We should be looking to trade with the rest of the world. We should do what we do better and they should do what they do better,” he said during the event, known as the “Woodstock for capitalists,” in which he has dedicated several hours to answer investors questions today.
“In my opinion, it is a big mistake to have seven thousand five hundred million people who do not like you very much and 300 million who boast in some way of how well they have gone. And I do not think it is correct or prudent,” he said without commenting more comments in the context of answering the first question about whether he still supports, as he proposed in 2003, import certificates to reduce the commercial deficit of the United States.
According to a distributed Berkshire report prior to the start of the event, the tariffs of President Trump and other geopolitical risks created an uncertain environment for the conglomerate, with its wide range of insurance, transportation, energy, retail, retail trade and other businesses but cannot predict any potential impact at this time, CNBC said.
“Our periodic operational results can be affected in future periods due to the impacts of ongoing macroeconomic and geopolitical events, as well as by changes in specific factors or events of the industry or the company,” says the report.
He ensures that the rhythm of changes in these events, “including international commercial policies and tariffs, has accelerated in 2025. A considerable uncertainty persists in terms of their final result.”
According to the report, Hathaway has sold more actions than he has bought for 10 consecutive quarters. The conglomerate got rid of more than 134 billion dollars in shares in 2024, mainly due to reductions in the two largest capital holdings of Berkshire: Apple and Bank of America. As a result of the sales wave, Berkshire’s cash reached a new record: 347 billion dollars, CNBC said.
The Nonagenarian businessman, who will answer questions from various topics throughout the day, stressed pleased that on Friday 4,400 copies of the book on the 60th anniversary of the conglomerate under his leadership were sold. The company printed about 8,000, about 3,000 more than expected initially, according to CNBC ..
He was also asked about artificial intelligence, but Buffett preferred him to answer the vice president of the company, sitting next to him, Ajit Jain, who said that Berkshire is not good to be a pioneer and that they have not seen opportunities in that sector
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