Warren Buffett has stepped down as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway after six decades leading the company, moving into the role of chairman emeritus. Greg Abel assumed full operational control on January 1, 2026, one day after Buffett’s retirement took effect, following the transition announced at Berkshire’s annual shareholder meeting on May 3, 2025. Under Buffett, Berkshire grew from a struggling New England textile mill into a roughly $1 trillion conglomerate, while its Class A shares delivered cumulative returns exceeding 5.5 million percent since 1965. Abel, previously vice chairman overseeing non-insurance operations and head of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, has already increased the company’s investment in Alphabet, sold several holdings and led the approximately $6.8 billion equity-value purchase of homebuilder Taylor Morrison. Buffett has pledged to donate virtually all of his Berkshire shares, valued at more than $140 billion, primarily through family foundations by the end of 2034, creating a long-term supply dynamic for investors to monitor as recipient foundations sell shares to fund grants.