Buffett leaves the helm of Berkshire: the era of the great investor comes to an end

For the small, big, world of finance, the date should be marked with a red pen: 3 May 2025. That is, the day Warren Buffett decided to leave the helm of his creature: Berkshire Hathaway. The announcement - a surprise for those who want the story to continue, in the air for those who remember that the oracle of Omaha is 94 years old - was made during the holding company's annual shareholders' meeting. Buffett stated that 'the time has come'. The right time for Greg Abel - Berkshire Hathaway's vice chairman - to succeed him. The formal handover should take place by the end of the year, subject to approval by Berkshire's board of directors. Needless to say, the moment Buffett made the announcement, the shareholders in the arena gave the well-known investor a standing ovation.

In the recent past, some commentators had begun to criticise it. Mainly because, by the end of 2024, Berkshire had accumulated monstrous liquidity. Well over 318 billion dollars of cash and securities maturing within the year. A sum which - it was the consideration of the detractors - showed how Buffett had now lost his 'touch'. In reality, if only by looking at the rollercoaster on which the world's stock markets have risen since April, the strategy appeared much more sensible. An approach that - quite apart from the fact that for Buffet, investing on fundamentals and for the long term is always at the core - ultimately proved to be absolutely rational.

Yes, rational. On closer inspection, as the Wsj recalls, Buffett has spent almost his entire life obsessed with the stock market. Since 1942, when he bought his first stock at the age of 11, he has devoured information about companies, reading corporate reports like most people listen to music. A young man always immersed in reading company balance sheets, obsessed with tax loss carryovers and depreciation schedules. Not only that. Another well-known characteristic of the Oracle of Omaha is his incredible memory. An uncommon ability to remember that, combined with his knowledge of financial information, has allowed him to amass the fortune we all know. Billions of dollars of his own, which, however, did not make him 'lose' his mind. Despite a personal fortune estimated at $168.2 billion, Buffett is known for his frugal lifestyle: he still lives in the house he bought in 1958 for $31,500 and drives modest cars. He has pledged to donate a large portion of his wealth to philanthropic causes, primarily through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and co-founded The Giving Pledge, an initiative that urges billionaires to donate the majority of their fortunes.

Returning to the present, it should be noted that in the first quarter of 2025 Berkshire Hathaway reported an operating income of USD 9.6 billion. This compares with operating income of 11.2 billion in the same period of 2024. The number is on the decline but - precisely - one must remember that the yardstick for a holding company such as Bershire is the medium to long term and return on investment. Two characteristics in respect of which Buffett, over 60 years, has proven himself to be among the world's most capable investors.

Finally: tariffs on global trade. Buffett - in his farewell speech - attacked Donald Trump's 'tariffs', though without naming the president. "There is no doubt that trade can be an act of war," he said, cautioning however that "trade should not be a weapon". It was a lunge that came as analysts in the US and abroad expressed growing concern that tariffs could seriously slow global growth. Two months ago, Buffett told CBS that tariffs 'are a tax on goods', and not a relatively painless way to increase revenue, as Trump has suggested.