Warren Buffett gets his son set, rides into the sunset

 

Warren Buffett gets his son set, rides into the sunset

Illustration: Morning Brew Inc., Photo: Paul Morigi/Getty Images

After a remarkable decades-long run, legendary investor Warren Buffett is stepping down as chair of Berkshire Hathaway. But in a way, he’ll still be doing what he’s always done: betting on the long-term benefits of good stock. His son, Howard, will be taking over as chair.

From one father to another: The elder Buffett announced the change yesterday in a letter to shareholders. “Father Time always wins,” 96-year-old Buffett wrote. “He has, however, been generous with me.” Buffett had already handed off his CEO role to Greg Abel at the end of last year.

During his more than six-decade tenure at Berkshire, Buffett turned a struggling textile mill into a $1 trillion conglomerate, growing the company’s shares more than 5,500,000%. By comparison, the S&P 500 gained 39,000% over the same period.

The future the Oracle designed

The elder Buffett will become chairman emeritus and remain on the company’s board, while his 71-year-old son Howard—or Howie, as he prefers to be called—slots into the chairman position, effective immediately. The move wasn’t a secret, nor was the reasoning: Papa Buffett literally told the Wall Street Journal last year, “He is getting it because he’s my son.”

But Howie’s qualifications do extend beyond the fact that he looks like his predecessor. The younger Buffett has:

• Been on Berkshire’s board for 33 years.
• Served on the boards of Coca-Cola, ConAgra Foods, and more.
• Been chairman and CEO of his own charitable foundation since 1999.

He’s also a longtime farmer and former agricultural exec, and served as a county commissioner in Omaha, as well as sheriff of Macon County, Illinois, for a few years—which makes him like four Fargo characters in one.

What will the nepo Buffett do? CEO Abel is still running the company, while Howie will be in charge of protecting Berkshire’s culture and values. Or, as Daddy Warrenbucks put it in 2013, the new chairman will “only have to think about whether the board…may need to change the CEO.”