Warren Buffett says he’s “going quiet” in CEO letter to investors

Warren Buffett delivered a letter to Berkshire Hathaway investors on Monday, with the missive likely marking his last official message before he hangs up his hat as chairman and CEO of the multinational conglomerate.

“I will no longer be writing Berkshire’s annual report or talking endlessly at the annual meeting,” the 95-year-old wrote in the letter. “As the British would say, I’m ‘going quiet.'”

Buffett’s shareholder letters have long been considered essential reading for investors, offering insights into Berkshire’s performance, plainspoken wisdom and reflections on business and life. In his new eight-page message, Buffett reminisced about his childhood in Omaha, Nebraska, the people who shaped his career, and the values that guided him, while noting that his health remains good.

“To my surprise, I generally feel good,” he wrote. “Though I move slowly and read with increasing difficulty, I am at the office five days a week where I work with wonderful people.”

He also laid out what comes next for the company he helped shepherd to success and his plans for his company shares.

More than 2.7 million shares will go to four family foundations, with 1.5 million shares given to The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation and 400,000 shares to each of The Sherwood Foundation, The Howard G. Buffett Foundation and NoVo Foundation, Berkshire Hathaway announced on Monday.

Berkshire Hathaway’s new CEO

Buffett announced he was stepping down earlier this year as Berkshire Hathaway’s chairman and CEO, naming Greg Abel as his replacement. Abel, who serves as vice chair of Berkshire Hathaway’s board of directors and oversees non-insurance operations at the company, will step in as CEO and chairman at the start of 2026.

Buffett took majority control of the company in 1965, transforming it from a textile manufacturer into one of the world’s leading investment operations. Berkshire Hathaway now ranks as the 9th largest U.S. company in terms of market capitalization, behind tech giants like NVIDIA and Amazon.

The company’s success has catapulted Buffett into the ranks of the world’s richest people, giving him a net worth of more than $150 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

In his latest letter, Buffett reiterated his belief in Abel as his successor. “Greg Abel has more than met the high expectations I had for him when I first thought he should be Berkshire’s next CEO,” he wrote. “He understands many of our businesses and personnel far better than I now do, and he is a very fast learner about matters many CEOs don’t even consider.”

Buffett added he plans to continue writing an annual Thanksgiving message to his children and shareholders.

“Berkshire’s individual shareholders are a very special group who are unusually generous in sharing their gains with others less fortunate. I enjoy the chance to keep in touch with you,” he wrote.

Buffett’s final words of wisdom

At the end of his latest letter, Buffett offered a few final words of personal wisdom:

“Don’t beat yourself up over past mistakes — learn at least a little from them and move on. It is never too late to improve.””Greatness does not come about through accumulating great amounts of money, great amounts of publicity or great power in government. When you help someone in any of thousands of ways, you help the world. Kindness is costless but also priceless.””Keep in mind that the cleaning lady is as much a human being as the Chairman.””Choose your heroes very carefully and then emulate them. You will never be perfect, but you can always be better.”

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