Greg Abel Is Taking Over for Warren Buffett at Berkshire Hathaway. Here's What You Need to Know.
The market took this news well, celebrating Berkshire Hathaway's update over the weekend.
Warren Buffett had already appointed Abel to be the next CEO of Berkshire Hathaway back in 2021.
Charlie Munger once offered his thoughts on how Berkshire Hathaway could look without Buffett.
10 stocks we like better than Berkshire Hathaway ›
Warren Buffett first shared that Greg Abel would take over as CEO in 2021, but no one was quite prepared to hear him officially pass the baton last weekend at the Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A)(NYSE: BRK.B) annual meeting.
It's hard to imagine the company without the investing legend at its helm, but at 94 years old, Buffett is ready to hand over the reins. The board has approved Abel to take over as CEO by the end of the year.
Abel is Buffett's right-hand man
Abel has been a part of Berkshire Hathaway since it bought about 80% of MidAmerican Energy, where he was president, in 1999. Buffett first mentioned him by name in the 2002 annual shareholders' letter, calling him a "dealmaker" and a "manager" and saying he was a "huge asset for Berkshire Hathaway."
He continued to call Abel and his business partner Dave Sokol "brilliant managers of the business," and year after year, he said they were "terrific managers" and that "Berkshire couldn't have better partners. "
Image source: The Motley Fool.
In 2014, the 50th anniversary of Buffett's tenure at Berkshire Hathaway, vice chairman and Buffett's partner Charlie Munger gave his thoughts about the company. One of the tasks he gave himself was to "predict whether abnormally good results would continue at Berkshire if Buffett were soon to depart." His short answer was "Yes," for a number of reasons:
Under this Buffett-soon-leaves assumption, his successors would not be 'of only moderate ability.' For instance, Ajit Jain and Greg Abel are proven performers who would probably be under-described as 'world-class.' 'World-leading' would be the description I would choose. In some important ways, each is a better business executive than Buffett.
Both Abel and Jain were elected as directors and vice chairmen at Berkshire in 2018, with Jain responsible for the insurance business and Abel responsible for the non-insurance businesses, or everything else. In 2021, Buffett made the announcement that Abel was next in line, and by 2023, he said that Abel "in all respects, is ready to be CEO of Berkshire tomorrow."
Perhaps investors should have seen this move coming. In the 2024 annual shareholder letter, released in February, Buffett said: "At 94, it won't be long before Greg Abel replaces me as CEO and will be writing the annual letters."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Yahoo
A 12-Stock Sane Portfolio for Crazy Times
August 4, 2025 -- (Maple Hill Syndicate) In today's higher-tariff world, where political and geopolitical clashes are harsh, you might want to take your stock portfolio's risk level down a notch. Perhaps the Sane Portfolio can be of some help. This is a theoretical portfolio, intended to be slightly on the low-risk side of the risk spectrum. It contains a dozen stocks, and I refresh the list once a year. To get in, a stock must meet seven criteria, described below. Once I choose a stock, it stays in unless it flunks one of the seven criteria. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 4 Warning Signs with BCC. Over 23 years, the Sane Portfolio has averaged an 11.2% annual return. That slightly beats the Standard & Poor's 500 Total Return Index, with an average return of 10.8%. My column results are hypothetical and shouldn't be confused with results I obtain for clients. Past performance doesn't predict the future. My list from a year ago trailed far behind the S&P. It posted a 6.9% return while the index returned 21.9%. My worst performer was Boise Cascade Co. (NYSE:BCC), down 30%. My best was Monarch Casino & Resort Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRI), up 45%. Seven Boxes To be eligible for the Sane Portfolio, a stock must satisfy seven criteria. No single criterion is especially hard, but few companies can check all seven boxes. Market value of at least $1 billion. Debt less than stockholders' equity. Return on stockholders' equity of 10% or better. Stock price less than 18 times per-share earnings. Stock price less than 3 times per-share sales. Stock price less than 3 times book value (corporate net worth per share). Five-year earnings growth averaging 5% per year or better. This year, seven Sane Portfolio companies stay on from previous years. Winning Streaks D.R. Horton Inc. (NYSE:DHI), the nation's largest homebuilder, is back for a sixth consecutive year. Many buyers can't afford a home at today's mortgage rates. So, Horton's latest year was soggy, but it has grown revenue at a 17% clip for the past decade. Back for a fifth year is Paccar Inc. (NASDAQ:PCAR), which builds heavy trucks (Kenworth and Peterbilt). The latest year has been rough. Companies have been reluctant to spend on trucks, amid tariff uncertainty. But Paccar has achieved 11% annual earnings growth in the past decade. Boise Cascade Co. (NYSE:BCC) of Boise, Idaho, which makes engineered-wood products and plywood, hangs in there for a fourth year. As noted above, this stock was a dog in the past twelve months. However, the stock looks cheap to me at about 10 times earnings. After a gain of around 30% in the past 12 months, W.R. Berkley Corp. (NYSE:WRB) returns for a third engagement. It's a commercial casualty insurance company based in Greenwich, Connecticut. Second-Timers Three companies are in the Sane Portfolio as sophomores. One is EOG Resources Inc. (NYSE:EOG), a big Houston-based oil and gas producer that emerged from the remnants of the Enron empire. Its profitability is impressive, with a 21% return on stockholders' equity. Another sophomore is Academy Sports & Outdoors Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO), a chain of sporting goods stores headquartered in Katy, Texas. I'm concerned that it gets a lot of its merchandise from China, so it may be hard-hit by tariffs. If it can stay on this roster another year, I'll be impressed. Returning, too, is Photronics Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB), which makes photomasks using in manufacturing semiconductor chips. Profits vary from year to year, but the company, based in Brookfield, Connecticut, has shown positive earnings ten years in a row. Newbies Five companies dropped out of the Sane Portfolio, giving me five slots to fill. I'll start with Axcelis Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:ACLS), based in Beverly, Massachusetts. Like Photronics, it makes equipment for manufacturing semiconductor chips. Its specialty is ion implantation. Block Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) operates the Square payments system. Small businesses like its hardware and software, and it's been growing nicely. Profits have shot up at a 30% annual rate the past five years. Cactus Inc. (NYSE:WHD), which makes oil-drilling equipment, is based in (where else?) Houston, Texas. I particularly like its balance sheet, with debt only 4 percent of stockholders' equity. Cigna Group (NYSE:CI), one of the largest U.S. health insurers, has been a stodgy stock. But I think it would hold up well if the market turns rocky. Analysts expect earnings to rise. Crocs Inc. (NASDAQ:CROX) makes casual shoes with holes for ventilation or decoration. It was a fad stock several years ago, rising 104% from mid-2006 to the end of 2007. Now it seems attractively cheap to me at six times earnings. Disclosure: I own D.R. Horton for one client. John Dorfman is chairman of Dorfman Value Investments LLC in Boston, Massachusetts, and a syndicated columnist. His firm or clients may own or trade securities discussed in this column. He can be reached at jdorfman@ This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Business Wire
20 minutes ago
- Business Wire
PPG, Asian Paints renew India joint venture in 15-year agreement
PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--PPG (NYSE:PPG) today announced the extension of its joint venture agreement in India with Asian Paints Ltd. The 15-year renewal will allow the companies to continue serving the country's industrial, protective, marine, packaging, automotive and powder coatings customers with industry-leading solutions that solve customers' biggest challenges. The extension will take effect in 2026 and run through 2041. 'We are pleased to announce the renewal of our joint venture with Asian Paints, which is a testament to the past success and strong growth potential in this key market,' said Tim Knavish, PPG chairman and CEO. 'This decades-long relationship is a key success factor for our business in India, and we look forward to serving customers in this rapidly growing region.' The partnership was established in 1997 with the formation of a 50-50 joint venture, PPG Asian Paints Private Ltd., to service the automotive, refinish, marine and consumer packaging markets. It was expanded in 2012 with the formation of a separate 50-50 joint venture, Asian Paints PPG Private Ltd., to service the protective and powder coatings market. Both joint ventures will continue to leverage PPG's technical expertise and global footprint. PPG will continue to have management control of PPG Asian Paints Private Ltd., and Asian Paints Ltd will have effective management control of Asian Paints PPG Private Ltd. to best utilize the companies' respective strengths. To learn more about Asian Paints Ltd., visit To learn more about Asian Paints PPG Ltd., visit About Asian Paints Limited Asian Paints is India's leading paint and decor company and ranked among the top eight coatings companies in the world with a consolidated turnover of ₹ 33,797 crores (₹ 338 billion) with a market capital of approx. ₹ 2,276 billion. Asian Paints, along with its subsidiaries, have operations in 14 countries across the world with 26 paint manufacturing facilities, servicing consumers in over 60 countries through Asian Paints, Apco Coatings, Asian Paints Berger, Asian Paints Causeway, SCIB Paints, Taubmans and Kadisco Asian Paints. Asian Paints also offers a wide range of Home Décor products and is the leading player in the Integrated Décor space in India. To learn more, visit PPG: WE PROTECT AND BEAUTIFY THE WORLD® At PPG (NYSE:PPG), we work every day to develop and deliver the paints, coatings and specialty materials that our customers have trusted for more than 140 years. Through dedication and creativity, we solve our customers' biggest challenges, collaborating closely to find the right path forward. With headquarters in Pittsburgh, we operate and innovate in more than 70 countries and reported net sales of $15.8 billion in 2024. We serve customers in construction, consumer products, industrial and transportation markets and aftermarkets. To learn more, visit The PPG Logo and We protect and beautify the world are registered trademarks of PPG Industries Ohio, Inc. CATEGORY Corporate
CNET
20 minutes ago
- CNET
Spotify Raises Premium Subscription Price Globally (but Not in the US -- Yet)
For many global customers, the cost of streaming their favorite music on Spotify is about to have a bigger impact on their wallets. The music streaming service announced that it's raising the monthly price of a premium subscription to 11.99 euros ($13.87) starting in September. Spotify said that the 1 euro price hike would affect markets in South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Latin America, and the Asia-Pacific region, but did not list the countries impacted. The price for US-based subscribers will not go up -- for now at least. That likely won't last -- the company raised the price by a dollar in 2023 and another dollar in 2024. It now costs $12. Spotify did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether it planned on raising US prices for Premium subscriptions. In its announcement Monday, Spotify said it was introducing the price increase "so that we can continue to innovate on our product offerings and features, and bring you the best experience." The announcement gave a shot in the arm to Spotify's share price during Monday's trading, with a nearly 7% increase in the stock price at the NYSE. The share price had dropped 11.5% on July 29 after the company's profit forecast fell below what analysts had predicted.
