Father Time Always Wins: Buffett Steps Down
Buffett's 61-Year Scoreboard: 5,502,284% vs 39,054%
Warren Buffett, 96, stepped down as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway on September 18, 2026, handing the gavel to his son Howard Buffett after 61 years running the board. He had already handed the CEO role to Greg Abel on January 1. What remains on the scoreboard is staggering: Berkshire's stock returned 5,502,284% from 1965 to 2024. The S&P 500, with dividends, returned 39,054% over the same period. Compounded annually, that is 19.9% for Berkshire versus 10.4% for the index. If Buffett's stock had somehow plunged 99% tomorrow, the remaining return would still beat the market's total since 1965. He started with a failing New England textile mill bought at age 34. It now has $1.1 trillion in market capitalisation, $44.5 billion in operating earnings in 2025, and nearly 400,000 employees across subsidiaries that include GEICO, BNSF railroad, Berkshire Hathaway Energy, Dairy Queen, and Duracell.
Berkshire vs S&P 500 since 1965
5,502,284% vs 39,054%
Annual compound gain
Berkshire 19.9%, S&P 500 10.4%
Berkshire market capitalisation
$1.1 trillion
Operating earnings (full year 2025)
$44.5 billion
Cash and equivalents (end Q2 2026)
$365.5 billion (down from $397.4B)
BRK.B year-to-date 2026
+1% (vs S&P 500 +11.5%)
"Father Time always wins. He has, however, been generous with me. Greg runs the company. Howard will guard its culture and values, both worth more than anything on our balance sheet.
"Warren Buffett · Berkshire shareholder letter Sept 18 2026
Howard Guards the Culture; Abel Deploys the Cash
Howard Buffett, 71, has sat on Berkshire's board for 33 years. His father described his role in policyholder terms: "Think of Howard as a policy the shareholders own and hope never to claim against." He is not running the business. That job belongs to Greg Abel, 64, CEO since January 1. In Q2 2026 Abel spent $4.5 billion on buybacks (up from $235 million in Q1), built a $10 billion stake in Alphabet (now a top-five holding), and acquired homebuilder Taylor Morrison for $6.8 billion in equity. Roughly $32 billion deployed in 90 days, ending 14 consecutive quarters in which Berkshire was a net seller of equities. Buffett on Abel: "My expectations for him were sky high from the start, and he has exceeded them."
The Era It Ends
The 96-year-old had one telling detail in his letter. He noted that one of his great-grandchildren recently turned one year old and is "moving a bit faster than I am these days." The transition from CEO to chairman to chairman emeritus happened in two steps across nine months, but the second step was abrupt: the board acted immediately on the announcement. Berkshire shares dipped 0.3% on the news, a verdict that is best read as calm rather than indifference. The company Buffett shaped has the succession planned, the cash deployed, and the culture institutionalised. That is not an accident. It is the point.
