Warren Buffett Still Clocking In 5 Days a Week as Berkshire Enters Greg Abel Era |
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Warren Buffett Still Clocking In 5 Days a Week as Berkshire Enters Greg Abel Era
Even after handing the reins to Greg Abel, Buffett remains in the room where decisions are made.
Despite stepping down as Berkshire Hathaway’s CEO a few months ago, Warren Buffett isn’t easing into retirement. The investing icon still drives into Berkshire’s Omaha headquarters five days a week, offering advice and weighing in on deals, though the final call now rests with his handpicked successor, Greg Abel. In his first interview since the transition, Buffett told CNBC’s Squawk Box this week that Abel “covers more ground in a day than I would in a week” and joked that his protégé is “so good—it was kind of embarrassing how good he is.”
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Buffett’s decision to relinquish the role that defined him for six decades stunned Wall Street last year. As chairman, he continues to shape Berkshire’s thinking while letting Abel, 63, take full control of execution. Buffett said he still contributes “just a tiny bit” to Berkshire and recently spearheaded “one tiny purchase,” but never acts without Abel’s agreement.
The Canadian-born Abel appears to be settling into his new role with ease. When fielding calls from investment bankers, “I cut them off in about 10 or 15 seconds, and he spends more time with them,” said Buffett. He noted that Abel manages to juggle his newfound responsibilities with his passion for hockey. Abel serves as an assistant coach for his son’s youth team in Des Moines, Iowa.
Abel has long been a trusted lieutenant of Buffett’s, having joined Berkshire in 2000 after stints at MidAmerican Energy Holdings, an energy company Berkshire later acquired, and CalEnergy. Since ascending to the top role, he’s pledged to maintain the company’s core culture and values, emphasizing long-term competitiveness, decentralized management and minimal bureaucracy.
That philosophy also explains Buffett’s enduring aversion to gambling, whether the kind found in casinos or in risk-heavy corners of the modern financial world. During the CNBC interview, he dismissed prediction markets and legalized sports betting as “things that make a sucker out of people,” calling them “a tax on stupidity.”
Instead, the chairman continues to favor concentrated investments in a handful of quality businesses. Berkshire’s largest holding remains Apple, first acquired about a decade ago. That position peaked at $170 billion before Buffett trimmed it to $62 billion late last year—transactions he now calls premature. “I sold it too soon,” he admitted, hinting that he’d gladly buy back some Apple shares if the price were right.
In typical self-effacing fashion, Buffett credited much of Apple’s success to CEO Tim Cook. “Tim was a fantastic manager, and he’s a good guy, and somehow he gets along with everybody in the world,” Buffett said. “That’s a technique I wouldn’t have.”
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