Generational transitions

Buffett accelerates on passing on his $149 billion fortune to his children

The tycoon converted 1,800 Class A shares into approximately 2.7 million Class B shares, which were to be donated to family foundations

by R.Fi.

10 November 2025

Il presidente di Berkshire Hathaway Warren Buffett partecipa all'assemblea annuale degli azionisti di Berkshire Hathaway Inc a Omaha, Nebraska, Stati Uniti, 3 maggio 2024. REUTERS/Scott Morgan/File Photo

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Warren Buffett has outlined a plan to 'accelerate' the pace of divestment of his $149 billion fortune to his children's foundations, while providing a short period for Berkshire Hathaway shareholders to gain confidence in the new CEO, Greg Abel.

Buffet, in a Thanksgiving letter that has become an annual tradition, said he had to accelerate the disbursement of his Berkshire shares to the foundations of his three children because of his advanced age. This will 'increase the likelihood that they will dispose of what will be essentially my entire estate before they are replaced by other trustees'.

Stock transaction

Berkshire Hathaway has announced that Warren Buffett has converted 1,800 Class A shares into approximately2.7 million Class B shares to be donated to various foundations led by his daughter Susie (72) and sons Howard (70) and Peter (67), pointing out that this "in no way reflects a change in my confidence in Berkshire's prospects". The latter will also oversee a philanthropic trust that will contain almost all of Buffett's residual wealth after his death. Potential successors have already been designated in the event that they cannot fill that role.

Buffett said he intends to retain a significant portion of the Class A shares until Berkshire's shareholders have full confidence in Greg Abel, who will take over as CEO from January.

The passing of the baton

The American tycoon wanted to reassure the shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway, which he has led since 1965, in view of his imminent retirement as CEO, expressing strong support for his designated successor Greg Abel and assuring that he will continue to be a major shareholder in the conglomerate.

Greg Abel, 63, is set to succeed Buffett, 95, as Berkshire's ceo at the start of the new year, while the 'Oracle of Omaha' will remain chairman. In fact, Abel, Berkshire's vice-chairman since 2018 and head of non-insurance operations, was officially named as heir in 2021 and has already assumed many of the operational and capital allocation responsibilities.

Referring to his long-time deputy, Charlie Munger, who passed away in 2023, Buffett said he intended to maintain a significant proportion of Class A shares 'until Berkshire's shareholders gain the confidence in Greg that Charlie and I have long enjoyed'. He added: 'That level of trust should not take long. My children already support Greg 100 per cent, as do Berkshire executives,' Buffett said.

"I can't think of a CEO, a business consultant, an academic or a public servant - anyone, really - that I would choose over Greg to manage your savings and mine," wrote Buffett, who about his health was keen to point out, "To my surprise, I feel generally well. I move slowly and read with some difficulty, but I am in the office five days a week and work with extraordinary people'.

Buffett's wealth

Buffet controls about $149 billion of Berkshire shares based on official disclosures of shares held at the end of the second quarter, making him by far the company's largest shareholder. The bulk of his assets are the original class A shares, which trade at about $751,480 a share. Since 2006, Buffett has already donated more than half of his Berkshire shares, but still holds about 14% of the capital. Over the years, the US billionaire has donated more than $47 billion to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, but has made it clear that these contributions will cease upon his death.

Also in the letter to shareholders, Buffett added that Berkshire's 200 or so subsidiaries have 'moderately above-average prospects', while acknowledging that the group, with a capitalisation of $1,080 billion, will no longer be able to beat the market as frequently as in the past. "Due to Berkshire's size and market levels, good ideas are few - but not none." Berkshire's major holdings and subsidiaries include the auto insurance group Geico, the railway BNSF, several companies in the energy and industrial sectors, and consumer brands such as Dairy Queen, Fruit of the Loom, and See's Candies. As of 30 September, the conglomerate had $283.2 billion in equity investments, including Apple and American Express, and $381.7 billion in cash.

The Thanksgiving note marks Buffett's first major announcement since announcing his resignation as CEO, marking the end of a six-decade journey that has made him a household name and one of the most successful investors in history. Since 3 May, when Buffett announced his retirement, Berkshire shares have lost 8%, underperforming the S&P 500 index by 26 percentage points. According to some analysts, the decline reflects the gradual disappearance of the so-called 'Buffett premium', i.e. the additional valuation attributed to the stock due to the presence of the famous investor at the top.