In an announcement that many investors knew was coming but didn’t believe would actually happen, famed investor Warren Buffett said Saturday at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder meeting that he would step down as CEO at the end of the year.

Greg Abel would take over at that point, pending board approval, and Buffett said he would not sell one share of Berkshire stock. Abel, the vice chairman of non-insurance operations of Berkshire, was designated as Buffett’s successor in 2021. Buffett will remain as chairman before turning that role over to his son, Howard Buffett, upon his death.

“Greg should become the chief executive officer of the company at year-end, and I want to spring that on the directors effectively,” Buffett said at CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska.

Buffett said only his children knew he would be stepping down.

The thousands in attendance gave Buffett a standing ovation.

Buffett, 94, was expected to discuss his succession plans at the event. He has been with Berkshire Hathaway since it was formed in 1965.

Born in Omaha in 1930, Buffett first became an investor when he was only 11 years old. He purchased his first stock in 1942 — three shares of Cities Service, an oil company, each worth about US$38. He eventually sold the stock at US$40, a mere profit of US$2 per share, although he could have later sold for US$200 per share.

When he was 6, Buffett sold popular chewing gum brands and bottles of Coca-Cola, which Berkshire now has a massive stake in. At 13, Buffett’s family moved to Washington, D.C., when his father was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Buffett would work as a newspaper delivery boy for The Washington Post.

After earning US$2,000 by the age of 15, he invested US$1,200 in a 40-acre Nebraska farm. Behind his savvy investing, Buffett had US$5,000 in savings before he turned 20.

After graduating from the University of Nebraska in 1950, he pursued a master’s in economics at the Columbia Business School in New York, paving the path to use US$100 of his own money in 1956 to launch his investment company, Buffett Partnership. In 1965, Buffett took control of a struggling textile mill in New Bedford, Massachusetts, called Berkshire Hathaway, which he helped grow into a giant conglomerate with close partner Charlie Munger.

Berkshire would acquire See’s Candies, and buy stakes in Coca-Cola and television network ABC, among other investments.

By 2025, Berkshire had a market capitalization of US$1.1 trillion.

Buffett is the fifth richest person in the world, with a net worth of US$169 billion, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index.

Buffett also finally shared what he thinks about tariffs.

The CEO of Berkshire Hathaway called America’s trade wars a “big mistake.”

“Trade should not be a weapon,” Buffett said. Buffett drew applause when he added: “America should do what we do best and other countries should do what they do best.”

Berkshire’s quarterly report said tariffs could have a negative impact on its growth.

(SD-Agencies)

周六，投资界传奇沃伦•巴菲特在伯克希尔哈撒韦公司的年度股东大会上表示将在今年年底辞去CEO一职，这一消息虽在投资者预期之中，但真正宣布时仍引发全场轰动。

董事会批准后将由伯克希尔非保险业务副董事长格雷格•阿贝尔接任CEO，巴菲特表示他不会减持任何伯克希尔股票。阿贝尔于 2021年被任命为巴菲特的接班人。巴菲特将继续担任董事长直至去世，其后这一职位将交给他的儿子霍华德•巴菲特。

巴菲特在内布拉斯加州奥马哈的CHI健康中心说：“格雷格会在年底成为公司CEO，这个决定我还没和董事们充分沟通。” 94岁的巴菲特说，只有他的孩子们知道他准备卸任。数千名与会者起立向这位执掌伯克希尔59年的“奥马哈先知”致敬。

伯克希尔哈撒韦公司成立于1965年。巴菲特 1930 年出生于奥马哈， 11岁时首次投资股票。他在 1942 年购买了他的第一只股票——城市服务公司的三股股票，每股价值约 38 美元。他最终以 40 美元的价格出售了股票，每股仅获利2美元，尽管后来每股股价涨到200美元。6岁时，巴菲特在街头兜售口香糖和可口可乐，伯克希尔现在拥有这些公司的大量股份。

13岁时，巴菲特的父亲当选为美国众议院议员，全家搬到了华盛顿特区。巴菲特给《华盛顿邮报》送报。在15岁时赚到2,000美元后，他花1,200美元购买了内布拉斯加州一个40英亩的农场。他是个精明的投资者， 20岁之前已经有5,000美元。1950年从内布拉斯加大学毕业后，他在纽约哥伦比亚大学商学院攻读经济学硕士学位， 1956年用100美元注册了自己的投资公司巴菲特合伙公司。1965年，巴菲特投资了马萨诸塞州新贝德福德一家名为伯克希尔哈撒韦、陷入困境的纺织厂，之后多年间与亲密的合伙人查理•芒格一起将该公司发展成为一家投资巨头。伯克希尔的经典投资包括收购时思糖果，重仓可口可乐、入股美国广播公司。

到2025年，伯克希尔的市值达到1.1万亿美元。巴菲特以1690亿美元身家位列彭博亿万富豪榜第五。

在股东大会上巴菲特也分享了他对关税的看法。他说美国的贸易战是个“重大错误”。“贸易不应该成为一种武器，”他还补充说：“美国应专注自身优势领域，其他国家也是如此。”

伯克希尔季报显示，关税政策已对公司增长前景构成不确定性。

(Translated by DeepSeek)