Warren Buffett Steps Down as CEO—and Other Key Takeaways From Berkshire’s Annual Meeting

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, BRK.B) held a meeting of its much -awaited annual shareholders on Saturday, where Warren Buffett announced a plan to step down from his role as CEO at the end of the year. Here are some major takeaairs from the incident.

Buffett says Greg Abel will take over as CEO at the end of the year

After 60 years as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett said on Saturday that he intends to leave the post, with Vice Chair Greg Abel set to receive the hull at the end of the year.

Buffett said, “I think Berkshire’s possibilities would be better under Greg’s management,” Buffett said, and they have no plans to sell their shares.

Abel will be the successor of Buffett, looking closely for the shareholder clues how Berkshire can turn under his leadership. During Saturday’s meeting, Abel suggested that his purpose is to continue the values ​​that have directed Berkshire under Buffett.

He said, “This is really investment philosophy and how Warren and the team have allocated capital for the last 60 years,” he said, “It won’t change, and this is the approach we will move forward.”

Buffett says, ‘Business should not be a weapon

Amidst economic uncertainty in front of President Trump’s rapid shifting tariff policies, many investors were also keen to hear what “Omaha of Omaha” had to say about Tariff.

Buffett said in the incident that he believes “there is no question that a business may be a task of war, and I think it is inspired by bad things,” the echo of statements earlier this year.

He said, “Trade should not be a weapon,” he said that the United States already has “victory” in its view, “as an incredibly important country”, “that” should trade with the rest of the world, and we should do what we do best, and they should do what they do best. ,

Buffett says the fiscal deficit is ‘unstable’

Asked whether he believes that the cost-cut department of the Trump administration’s government is a pure positive for the country, “I think the bureaucracy is something that is dangerous, and more than the big corporations-more than that most of them look as if they can run better.”

“We are working on a fiscal deficit that is now unstable for some time. We don’t know if it means two years or 20 years, because a country like the United States has never lived,” he said, but it can not “go forever.”

“This is a task that I do not want, but this is a task that I think should be done,” Buffett said.

Berkshire’s cash pile climbs to record $ 347.7b as the sale continues

Berkshire finished this quarter with a record $ 347.7 billion with short -term investment in cash, cash counterparts and US Treasury Bills, as the company maintained its sales competition.

Buffett said on Saturday that he is always looking for new opportunities and would like to reduce the cash reserve of Berkshire, but suggested that there could not be a change soon.

Buffett said, “This is unlikely to happen tomorrow,” Buffett said, although he suggested that “it is unlikely to happen in five years.”

Buffett jokes Apple CEO Tim Cook ‘Berkshire gave a lot of money’

Tim Cook, CEO of Apple (AAPL) -Barkshire’s Longstanding Holdings -also participated in the event, shouted from Buffett.

Buffett jokingly said, “I am somewhat embarrassed that Tim Cook has given a lot of money to Berkshire as I have ever made Berkshire Hathway.”

Berkshire has significantly reduced its stake in Apple in the last one year, but it is one of the biggest holdings of the company.