Buffett to step down from Berkshire after 60 years at helm
WASHINGTON: Influential billionaire investor Warren Buffett said Saturday he would retire from leading his Berkshire Hathaway business group by the end of the year and that he would recommend his chosen successor Greg Abel take over. Buffett's success, coupled with his ability to explain his thinking in clear soundbites, has made him highly influential in the business and financial communities, earning him the nickname 'The Oracle of Omaha'.
Buffett indicated several years ago 62-year-old Abel would be his pick for successor. 'The time has arrived where Greg should become the chief executive officer of the company at year end,' Buffett, 94, told an annual shareholder meeting in Omaha, the Midwestern city where Berkshire is based. Buffett said he believed the board of directors would be 'unanimously in favor of' his recommendation.
'I would still hang around and could conceivably be useful in a few cases, but the final word would be what Greg said in operations, in capital deployment, whatever it might be,' he added. Buffett transformed Berkshire Hathaway from a medium-sized textile company when he bought it in the 1960s into a giant conglomerate, now valued at more than $1 trillion and with liquid assets of $300 billion.
The announcement prompted an outpouring of praise for Buffett from CEOs and investors. 'Warren Buffett represents everything that is good about American capitalism and America itself - investing in the growth of our nation and its businesses with integrity, optimism, and common sense,' said Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co. Tim Cook, chief executive of Apple, in a post on X said: 'There's never been someone like Warren, and countless people, myself included, have been inspired by his wisdom. It's been one of the great privileges of my life to know him.'
Peter Cardillo of Spartan Capital Securities described Buffett as the 'Wizard of Wall Street' and said his announcement could come as a relief to those worried about succession. 'This helps alleviate concerns about who will replace him and may very well be well received by his followers,' Cardillo told AFP. The company on Saturday reported first-quarter profits of $9.6 billion, down 14 percent. That works out to $4.47 per share, also down sharply.
And Buffett's net worth as of Saturday was $168.2 billion, according to Forbes magazine's real-time rich list. 'I have no intention — zero — of selling one share of Berkshire Hathaway. I will give it away eventually,' Buffett told shareholders, who responded with a standing ovation. 'The decision to keep every share is an economic decision because I think the prospects of Berkshire will be better under Greg's management than mine. So that's the news hook for the day,' Buffett quipped.
Abel, a long-time core figure of Berkshire, joined the group in the energy division in 1992 and has been on the board of directors since 2018. 'I couldn't be more humbled and honored to be part of Berkshire as we go forth,' Abel told shareholders. Asked during the meeting how his oversight of Berkshire's 189 operating businesses would differ from Buffett's, Abel said: 'More active, but hopefully in a very positive way.'
'Greg Abel and the rest of the team has huge shoes to fill, and they have immense amounts of cash to put to work if they so desire,' said Steve Sosnick of Interactive Brokers. 'This is truly the end of an era,' he added. Buffett earlier used the stage to declare that 'trade should not be a weapon', in remarks clearly targeting US President Donald Trump's aggressive use of tariffs against countries around the world. 'There is no question that trade can be an act of war,' he said, without mentioning Trump by name.
Those comments came as analysts in the United States and abroad have expressed growing concern that tariffs could seriously slow global growth. Two months ago, Buffett told a CBS interviewer that tariffs 'are a tax on goods' — and not a relatively painless revenue-raiser, as Trump has suggested — adding, 'I mean, the Tooth Fairy doesn't pay 'em!' On Saturday Buffett urged Washington to continue trading with the rest of the world, saying, 'We should do what we do best and they should do what they do best.'
Achieving prosperity is not a zero-sum game, with one country's successes meaning another's losses, he said. Both can prosper. 'I do think that the more prosperous the rest of the world becomes, it won't be at our expense. The more prosperous we'll become, and the safer we'll feel,' Buffett said. He added that it can be dangerous for one country to offend the rest of the world while claiming superiority.
'It's a big mistake, in my view, when you have seven and a half billion people that don't like you very well, and you got 300 million that are crowing in some way about how well they've done,' Buffett told shareholders. Compared to that dynamic, he said, the financial markets' recent gyrations are 'really nothing'. – Agencies
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab Times
12 hours ago
- Arab Times
Trump tells US steelworkers he's going to double tariffs on foreign steel to 50%
WEST MIFFLIN, Pa, May 31, (AP): US President Donald Trump on Friday told Pennsylvania steelworkers he's doubling the tariff on steel imports to 50% to protect their industry, a dramatic increase that could further push up prices for a metal used to make housing, autos and other goods. In a post later on his Truth Social platform, he added that aluminum tariffs would also be doubled to 50%. He said both tariff hikes would go into effect Wednesday. Trump spoke at US Steel's Mon Valley Works-Irvin Plant in suburban Pittsburgh, where he also discussed a details-to-come deal under which Japan's Nippon Steel will invest in the iconic American steelmaker. Trump told reporters after he arrived back in Washington that he still has to approve the deal. "I have to approve the final deal with Nippon and we haven't seen that final deal yet, but they've made a very big commitment and it's a very big investment,' he said. Though Trump initially vowed to block the Japanese steelmaker's bid to buy Pittsburgh-based US Steel, he reversed course and announced an agreement last week for "partial ownership' by Nippon. It's unclear, though, if the deal his administration helped broker has been finalized or how ownership would be structured. Nippon Steel has never said it is backing off its bid to outright buy and control US Steel as a wholly owned subsidiary, even as it increased the amount of money it promised to invest in US Steel plants and gave guarantees that it wouldn't lay off workers or close plants as it sought federal approval of the acquisition. "We're here today to celebrate a blockbuster agreement that will ensure this storied American company stays an American company,' Trump said as he opened an event at one of US Steel's warehouses. "You're going to stay an American company, you know that, right?' As for the tariffs, Trump said doubling the levies on imported steel "will even further secure the steel industry in the US.' But such a dramatic increase could push prices even higher. Steel prices have climbed 16% since Trump became president in mid-January, according to the government's Producer Price Index.
Kuwait Times
3 days ago
- Kuwait Times
Banks tiptoe toward crypto, awaiting more green lights from US regulators
Banks seek more clarity around AML-crypto regulations NEW YORK: Big US banks are holding internal discussions about expanding into cryptocurrencies as they get stronger endorsements from regulators, but initial steps will be tentative, centering on pilot programs, partnerships or limited crypto trading, according to four industry executives. Wall Street giants that had been largely blocked from many crypto activities by strict regulations are poised to grow quickly. Yet the biggest lenders are still hesitant to be the first among rivals to expand too heavily into crypto in case they fall afoul of changing rules, said the four executives, who declined to be identified since they were discussing internal business plans. If a major firm expands without issues, others will be fast followers to run small-scale pilot projects and weigh other business prospects, the executives said. Jamie Dimon, CEO of the largest US bank, JPMorgan Chase, ruled out getting into custody - storing crypto assets for clients - or expanding significantly even if regulations ease. 'When I look at the bitcoin universe, the leverage in the system, the misuse in the system, the money laundering issues, trafficking, I'm not a fan of it,' Dimon, a longtime crypto skeptic, told investors last week. 'We're going to allow you to buy it, we're not going to custody it. ... I don't think you should smoke, but I defend your right to smoke. I defend your right to buy bitcoin,' he added. US President Donald Trump vowed to become the first 'crypto president' before he took office. He has since wooed the industry's elite at the White House, promised to boost the adoption of digital assets and said he aims to create a strategic bitcoin reserve. While there are welcoming signs, banks are seeking even clearer guidelines from the government clarifying what they can do in crypto, more than half a dozen industry executives said. 'The shift in the stance is encouraging for traditional lenders, but they are still approaching it with caution and viewing the changes in regulation as an opportunity to engage and not a free pass,' said Dario de Martino, A&O Shearman M&A partner who works on crypto-related issues. Custody businesses to store and manage crypto assets are promising, bankers and executives said, but they have thin margins and potentially pose high risks. Most banks are likely to enter custody businesses through partnerships with existing crypto firms, sources said. Charles Schwab CEO Rick Wurster told Reuters earlier this month that the traffic lights from financial regulators were flashing 'pretty green' for large firms to grow in crypto. The signals have reinforced Schwab's plans to offer spot crypto trading within a year, he said. New regulators under Trump have also signaled more bank-friendly crypto policies. The US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency paved the way for lenders to engage in some crypto activities, such as custody, some stablecoin activities and participation in distributed ledger networks. The Securities and Exchange Commission also scrapped earlier accounting guidance that made it expensive for banks to deal in crypto. Bank of America could launch stablecoins, its CEO Brian Moynihan said earlier this year, and the US banking industry will embrace cryptocurrencies for payments if regulations permit them. Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley MS.N wants to work with regulators to see how it can be a middleman for crypto-related transactions, CEO Ted Pick said earlier this year. The lender is also exploring adding crypto to its e-trade platform, a source said. Some of the large banks are also exploring issuing a joint stablecoin, with the conversations in initial stages, another banking source said. Big banks seek more clarity around anti-money laundering rules and supervision before diving deeper into crypto. They are also asking for consistent guidelines across banking and market regulators before launching new businesses in digital assets, whose values are volatile. For now, banks are weighing their crypto prospects and running small-scale pilot programs. 'While a much-improved environment, banks will continue to have concerns around anti-money laundering and regulatory compliance,' said Matthew Biben, co-head of the global financial services group at law firm King & Spalding. Shifting landscape Banks want to understand if they can engage in crypto lending, or if they are allowed to become market makers for digital assets, one of the banking sources said. The rules for traditional banking businesses are very well defined and there is complete clarity over what a bank is allowed to do and what is outside their ambit, similar well-defined guidelines are needed for digital assets too. The working group on crypto under David Sacks, the Trump-appointed crypto czar, has no representation from banking regulators, which needs to be amended if the big banks are allowed to play any meaningful role in the business, two banking sources said. - Reuters
Kuwait Times
4 days ago
- Kuwait Times
Misinformation casts shadow on US-China trade truce
WASHINGTON: From false claims of Americans panic-buying Chinese goods to bot-driven attacks on US brands, a tide of misinformation is casting a shadow over a temporary trade truce between Washington and Beijing. The world's two biggest economies agreed earlier this month to pause reciprocal tariffs for 90 days, a surprise de-escalation in their bitter trade war following high-level talks in Geneva. But an alternate reality is unfolding across social media platforms, including China's Douyin and Weibo, where a surge of falsehoods is fueling anti-American sentiment that could undermine the fragile truce. One online video, which garnered millions of views across those platforms and TikTok, claims to show panicked American shoppers snapping up Chinese-branded television sets in the aftermath of trade tensions. But in reality, that was old footage from 2018 showing Black Friday shopping frenzy at a US supermarket. The falsehood was further amplified by Chinese state media outlets, including China Daily, which ran headlines such as: "Americans are starting to stock up like crazy amid tariffs and snapping up Chinese-branded TVs." A news clip on its website - more recycled footage from 2018 - bears a "file footage" watermark in the upper left corner, apparently to shield the outlet from legal liability. Other unfounded claims emerged on Chinese platforms about Americans flying to China to shop for Chinese goods, and that US citizens - reeling from the economic fallout of the trade war - were queuing up to purchase supplies in bulk. "These narratives are almost certainly curated by the state, which has become increasingly fluent in harnessing social media," Andrew Mertha, director of the SAIS China Global Research Center at Johns Hopkins University, told AFP. "(They) help align Chinese public opinion with governmental strategy, in this case demonstrating - albeit inaccurately, certainly prematurely - that 'the US is already feeling the pain, so China must stay the course.'" Economic jitters US President Donald Trump's on-again, off-again tariffs have sent jitters through the world economy, unnerving investors and roiling financial markets. Under the May 12 truce, the United States agreed to temporarily reduce the tariff on Chinese imports to 30 percent from 145 percent, while China said it would lower its import duty on American goods to 10 percent from 125 percent. Some of the false narratives emerged before the agreement but have continued to spread online, fueling confusion and a broader wave of information chaos. "A lot of friends in China asked me: Are there no eggs in the United States? Is it very unsafe? Are people rushing to buy things? Have you stockpiled anything?" Vivian Wei, a Chicago-based content creator, told AFP. "Some people even (suggested) not to come to the United States for tourism or study." The rumors prompted Wei to tour several supermarkets across Chicago, only to find shelves stocked. While American shoppers seemed unfazed by the swirl of online misinformation, Wei observed that the "Chinese were getting very excited." 'Digital blitz' Last month, disinformation security firm Cyabra uncovered an anti-US influence campaign on the Elon Musk-owned X involving thousands of fake or bot-operated accounts. They targeted global brands such as Gucci, Chanel and Amazon, amplifying the unfounded narrative that they produced goods in China while branding them as "Made in France" or "Made in Italy." The accounts blamed Trump's trade policies for enabling such deceptive marketing practices, while urging consumers to ditch those brands and purchase products directly from China. "This was a digital blitz. A third of the accounts weren't real, but the backlash they triggered was," Dan Brahmy, chief executive of Cyabra, told AFP. "Fake profiles hijacked luxury brands, pushed anti-US narratives, and steered buyers away without raising suspicion. That's what makes it effective." Last month, AFP also uncovered viral TikTok videos by Chinese content creators promoting the spurious claim that international luxury brands were secretly manufacturing their products in China. The targeted brands did not respond to the claim, which appeared to be part of a sprawling campaign exploiting US-China trade tensions to market counterfeit luxury goods. The false narratives are unlikely to fade as trade negotiations continue, experts say. "I believe these narratives will continue and will evolve in parallel with strengthening the Chinese government's negotiating position," said Mertha from Johns Hopkins University.- AFP
