Posted on 05/05/2025 8:47:42 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Warren Buffett shocked an arena full of shareholders on Saturday by announcing his intention to retire at the end of the year.
Mr Buffett said he will recommend to Berkshire Hathaway’s board that Greg Abel should become chief executive at the end of the year.
“I think the time has arrived where Greg should become the chief executive officer of the company at year-end,” Mr Buffett said.
The sudden announcement comes after the 94-year-old investor had always insisted he had no plans to retire.
Many investors have said they believe Mr Abel will do a good job running Berkshire, but it remains to be seen how good he will be at investing the company’s cash.
Mr Buffett also endorsed him by pledging to keep his fortune invested in the company.
He said: “I have no intention – zero – of selling one share of Berkshire Hathaway. I will give it away eventually.
“The decision to keep every share is an economic decision because I think the prospects of Berkshire will be better under Greg’s management than mine.”
Thousands of investors in the Omaha arena gave Mr Buffett a prolonged standing ovation after his announcement in recognition of his 60 years leading the company.
Just 12 people are said to have attended the first Berkshire meeting under Buffett’s leadership in 1965 – decades later, tens of thousands make the annual pilgrimage to Omaha.
(Excerpt) Read more at finance.yahoo.com ...
Who cares?!
94 years old, yep, I suppose retirement is inevitable.
The guy must be one hundred and twenty years old. Retirement isn’t exactly unthinkable.
I gather you don’t own Berkshire Hathaway shares?
“Who cares?!”
You, for one.
Babylon Bee worthy headline:
“94 year old man shocks company with retirement announcement “
We "hold" our own assets, so all the funds and holding companies can do as they do. If every one "held" their own, there would be no holding companies and hedge funds and the like.
Buffett was the embodiment of the post-Reagan 40 year wave of declining interest rates and growth in the SNP 500.
He also smartly focused on companies that generated CASH - hence is big investments in insurance.
I somehow feel that his departure is a sign of sea-change, that what worked in the past won’t necessarily work in the future.
You gotta give the devil his due... 19.9% average annual returns for 60 years are a helluva track record. For every $20 you invested in Berkshire in 1965, you’d have a million bucks now.
Here is the real story of Buffet’s investing strategy. Prior to 1986 tax change, capital gains tax rate was less than ordinary income. This is why buffet never paid a dividend but rather reinvested the profits back into the company. Stockholders loved it as their stocks increased in value and not taxed until they sold their shares, and then it was taxed less because it was a capital gain.
Also, it was said that Buffet created many millionaires in Omaha.
You might ask, what makes me qualified to talk about Buffet. Very simple, I got a BS degree in Business Finance from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
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