Warren Buffett shocked an arena full of his shareholders by announcing that he wants to retire at the end of the year. Buffett said he will recommend to Berkshire Hathaway’s board that Greg Abel should become CEO at the end of the year. Previously the 94-year-old investor has always said he had no plans to retire. But Abel has been his designated successor for years, and Abel has already been managing all of Berkshire's non-insurance businesses. He will now take on the responsibility for running Berkshire's insurance businesses and investing its cash. Able said he was “humbled and honored to be part of Berkshire as we go forward.” Billionaire Warren Buffett will remain chairman of Berkshire Hathaway after Greg Abel takes over as CEO at the start of the new year. The decision by the board of directors at the conglomerate Sunday is likely to relieve investors worried about the future of Berkshire’s remarkable winning streak amid tariff shocks, financial turmoil and a possible recession.
Meanwhile, Warren Buffett's company reported just over one-third of last year's profit Saturday a few hours before he announced plans to retire as Berkshire Hathaway's CEO at the end of the year. The profit numbers were weighed down by a major drop in the value of its investments and $860 million in insurance losses related to policies that Geico and its other insurance companies wrote before the devastating Southern California wildfires.