Overview
- Buffett confirms he will step down as Berkshire Hathaway CEO at the end of the year, remain chairman, and keep issuing his annual Thanksgiving shareholder letters.
- He offers an unequivocal endorsement of Greg Abel as successor, calling him a great manager, tireless worker, and honest communicator who should steward shareholder savings.
- He discloses the transfer of 1,800 Berkshire A-shares worth more than $1.3 billion to four family foundations and says he will accelerate donations.
- Buffett says his children will oversee a charitable foundation that will hold most of his remaining wealth after his death, reflecting a shift toward family-directed philanthropy.
- He reports feeling generally good at age 95 but moving slowly with increasing difficulty reading, urges investors not to despair after an 8% year-to-date share decline, and notes a record cash pile with buybacks paused for five quarters as observers debate the rationale.