At Berkshire Hathaway’s recent annual shareholders meeting, legendary investor Warren Buffett announced that he will officially step down as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at the end of 2025. His chosen successor will assume the role, pending approval from the board of directors.
According to CNBC, Buffett confirmed that Greg Abel — Vice Chairman in charge of non-insurance operations — will take over as CEO. Abel had previously been publicly identified by Buffett as his intended successor.
“It’s time for Greg to become CEO by the end of the year,” Buffett said. “I want to communicate that clearly to the board and make my formal recommendation.”
Buffett added that after stepping down, he will remain involved with Berkshire Hathaway in an advisory role, but all final executive decisions will rest with Greg Abel.
The announcement comes as Berkshire is sitting on a massive $348 billion in cash reserves.
Buffett has long warned that the rising U.S. national debt is unsustainable and has expressed concern over increasing macroeconomic instability, which he says is impacting global financial markets.
Berkshire Beats the S&P, But Still Trails Bitcoin
Throughout his storied career, Buffett has delivered market-beating returns for investors — often doubling the performance of the S&P 500. However, in the era of digital assets, Berkshire Hathaway has struggled to keep pace with Bitcoin’s explosive growth.
While Berkshire’s Class A stock currently trades above $809,000 per share and boasts a market capitalization of over $1 trillion, its performance has significantly lagged behind Bitcoin in terms of percentage gains since 2015.
Since 2020 alone, Bitcoin has delivered returns exceeding 781%, compared to Berkshire Hathaway’s approximate 150% over the same period.
Buffett has been a longtime critic of Bitcoin, calling the decentralized digital currency with its limited supply “worthless” and at times comparing it to a scam.
Together with longtime business partner Charlie Munger, Buffett has repeatedly said that Bitcoin doesn’t even qualify as an investment and has urged traders to stay away from it.
