Overview

• Buffett marks his 95th birthday as his last as Berkshire Hathaway’s chief executive, with plans to step down at year-end and remain chairman.
• He has led the company since 1970, transforming it into a conglomerate with roughly 400,000 employees, a market value near $1 trillion, and major holdings such as Geico, BNSF Railway, and Fruit of the Loom.
• Experts told Business Insider that continuing so late in life reflected how central the work was to his identity and sense of purpose.
• Commentators say the 2023 death of longtime partner Charlie Munger helped crystallize Buffett’s recognition that his working years would end.
• Despite giving more than $60 billion to charity and cofounding the Giving Pledge in 2010, Buffett remains among the world’s wealthiest, with a reported net worth near $150 billion.