Warren Buffett is a legend in investing. His Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) and (BRK.B) is among the 10 most valuable U.S. companies in terms of market capitalization.
It was at just under $1.1 trillion on Friday, just behind Tesla (TSLA) , which has jumped 19.8% so far in May.
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Berkshire Hathaway is up more than 13% in 2025, more than any of the so-called Magnificent 7 stocks. (Tesla is still down 13% on the year.)
Buffett announced at this year’s annual meeting he would retire on Dec. 31 after more than 60 years at the top.
Vice Chairman Greg Abel will take over as CEO. Buffett had handpicked his successor.
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The Omaha World-Herald, in a Sunday story, said that the Oracle of Omaha, as Buffett is often called, will sit with the other directors in the audience at Berkshire’s 2026 annual meeting. Abel, 62, will run the all-day event.
The disclosure came from Buffett’s daughter Susan Buffett, a Berkshire director. Susan Buffett told the Omaha newspaper that her father felt it was appropriate for Abel to have the stage to himself.
The annual meetings became legendary, often called the Woodstock for investors.
Buffett, along with Abel and Berkshire’s insurance chief Ajit Jain, would patiently answer questions for hours. Buffett developed a masterful talent at sounding folksy — but to the point — at the meetings.
At the 2025 annual meeting on May 3, Buffett surprised Berkshire investors at the end of the question-and-answer session when he announced he would step aside.
Felt like he was ‘slowing down’
Later, he told The Wall Street Journal that he decided to retire because he felt he was slowing down.
“Buffett observed just how much energy his appointed successor brought to each working day. And how his own days had slowed,” reporter Karen Langley wrote this past week.
“The two men were operating at different speeds — increasingly so,” Langley wrote.
“There was no magic moment,” Buffett, now 94, said in a telephone interview with Langley. “How do you know the day that you become old?”
But there were signs, Buffett told Langley. He began to lose his balance. He sometimes had trouble remembering names. Suddenly, the newspapers he read looked like they were printed with too little ink.
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Shares slip since Buffett announcement
Buffett’s decision to step down has actually hurt Berkshire Hathaway shares. They’re down nearly 5% since May 2, the day before the company’s annual meeting.
Doesn’t matter if we’re talking Berkshire Hathaway’s Class A shares, which closed at $770,660 on Friday, or the Class B shares, which were at $514.31.
That sometimes happens when a CEO as respected as Buffett steps aside. The decision alone can create uncertainty among investors.
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Turned a dying textile maker into a giant
Buffett was only 34 when he took over Berkshire-Hathaway, then a struggling New England textile maker. He got the company out of textiles and proceeded to build one of the biggest U.S. conglomerates.
Berkshire now owns electric utilities, a huge insurance operation, the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad and the makers of everyday products, including Duracell batteries and Benjamin Moore paints, and the Dairy Queen ice-cream chain.
He has invested Berkshire’s excess cash well, often spectacularly well, with huge gains from stocks such as Apple (AAPL) and American Express (AXP) .
He helped stabilize Wall Street during the 2008 financial crisis with a $5 billion investment in Goldman Sachs (GS) preferred shares. When the crisis eased, Goldman redeemed the shares. Berkshire’s profit: $3.7 billion.
Great investors aren’t perfect.
Case in point: Berkshire’s 28% holding in Occidental Petroleum (OXY) . At $43.04, the shares are off 33% from their 52-week high because of low oil prices.
West Texas Intermediate, the benchmark U.S. crude, is off nearly 50% from its June 2022 peak.
Barrons has estimated Berkshire’s cost basis in Occidental is in the low $50s.
Occidental CEO Vicki Hollub has said a Berkshire buyout of her company would be “a dream come true.”
Related: Veteran fund manager issues dire S&P 500 warning for 2025
