Warren Buffett picked the final minute of his 60th shareholder meeting to drop a long-awaited announcement that was still completely surprising for his fans, most of his board and even his successor.
Buffett, the 94-year-old architect and face of Berkshire Hathaway, announced that the gathering would be his last as head of the company he built from humble beginnings into one of the world¡¯s most valuable enterprises. A few feet away, Greg Abel, the energy executive long seen as Omaha¡¯s crown prince, wasn¡¯t even aware his time had come.
Buffett will hand Abel the keys to a $1.2 trillion behemoth, commanding a portfolio of stocks such as Apple and American Express on top of a collection of insurance, energy, railroad and consumer businesses that regularly churn out $10 billion a quarter in operating profit. The 62-year-old will also inherit a plethora of questions, starting with what he¡¯ll do with Berkshire¡¯s almost $350 billion cash pile after Buffett largely sat out a volatile last few years in the markets.
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