Warren Buffett Is Making a Big Change to Next Year's Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting

Key Points

• Warren Buffett, 94, announced he will step down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway effective January 1, 2026, marking the end of his five-decade run leading the company.
• Next year’s “Woodstock of Capitalism” annual meeting in Omaha will feature Greg Abel, 62, on stage answering shareholders’ questions instead of Buffett.
• Buffett will remain chairman of the board and attend the 2026 meeting, but he’ll sit on the main floor with other directors rather than at the podium.
• He cited the growing difference in energy and capacity between himself and Abel as the key reason for passing the torch.

Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, a massive event known as the "Woodstock of Capitalism," will be making a big change next year.

CEO and Chairman Warren Buffett, 94, has taken the stage just about every year for the last five-plus decades to answer shareholders' questions—and sometimes for a whopping five hours. But at the end of this year's Q&A session earlier this month, Buffett made the surprise announcement that he's stepping down as CEO.

Related: Warren Buffett Says to Forget About 10,000 Hours of Practice — If You Want to Master Something, Do This Instead

^{Attendees wait in line outside CHI Health Center during a shareholders' shopping day ahead of the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, US, on Friday, May 2, 2025. Dan Brouillette/Bloomberg | Getty Images}

The Omaha World Herald first reported that the soon-to-be former CEO will skip the dais for next year's grilling. Instead, Buffett's successor, Greg Abel, 62, who is taking over the reins on Jan. 1, 2026, will be on stage answering to the company's 40,000 or so attendees.

Buffett is continuing at Berkshire as chairman of the board and will still attend the meeting, but he'll sit below the podium on the main floor with the other Berkshire directors, per CNBC.

Related: The Warren Buffett Indicator Says It Is Time to Buy

^{A cardboard cutout depicting Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett during a shareholders' shopping day ahead of the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, US, on Friday, May 2, 2025. Dan Brouillette/Bloomberg | Getty Images}

Buffett revealed his decision to step down as CEO in the final five minutes of this year's five-hour question-and-answer session. In an interview last week with The Wall Street Journal, Buffett said he decided to pass the torch because "it was unfair, really," to Abel, who he says is ready to lead.

"The difference in energy level and just how much he [Abel] could accomplish in a 10-hour day compared to what I could accomplish in a 10-hour day — the difference became more and more dramatic," Buffett told the WSJ.