Warren Buffett speaks during the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting in Omaha, Nebraska on May 3, 2025.
CNBC
Warren Buffett laid out a plan to “step up” the pace of giving away his $149 billion estate to his children’s foundations, while still allowing for a short period that allows Berkshire Hathaway shareholders to gain confidence in incoming CEO Greg Abel.
Buffett, in a Thanksgiving letter that will become an annual tradition, said he needs to accelerate the disbursement of his Berkshire stock to his three children’s foundations because of their own advanced ages and that by doing so it will “improve the probability that they will dispose of what will essentially be my entire estate before alternate trustees replace them.”
Abel, 63, is set to take over for Buffett, 95, as Berkshire CEO at the start of the new year with the “Oracle of Omaha” remaining chairman.
“I would like to keep a significant amount of ‘A’ shares until Berkshire shareholders develop the comfort with Greg that Charlie and I long enjoyed,” wrote Buffett, referring to long-time Berkshire Vice Chairman and his cherished business partner Charlie Munger, who died two years ago.
“That level of confidence shouldn’t take long. My children are already 100% behind Greg as are the Berkshire directors,” said Buffett.
Buffett owns about $149 billion worth of Berkshire based on shares held at the end of the second quarter, making him far and away the largest shareholder. Most of his wealth is in the original A shares which trade for around $751,480 a share.
He said 1,800 of those Berkshire A shares were converted into 2.7 million B shares and given Monday to four family foundations: The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, The Sherwood Foundation, The Howard G. Buffett Foundation and the NoVo Foundation.
“The acceleration of my lifetime gifts to my children’s foundations in no way reflects any change in my views about Berkshire’s prospects,” added Buffett.
The note marks Buffett’s first major communication since announcing plans to step down as CEO, signaling the close of a six-decade run that made him a household name and one of the most successful investors in history.
“As the British would say, I’m ‘going quiet.’… sort of,” Buffett wrote in the letter.
Abel, currently vice chairman of non-insurance operations, will take over writing Berkshire’s annual shareholder letters — a tradition that Buffett began in 1965 and that has become essential reading across Wall Street — while Buffett said he will continue this Thanksgiving message.
In one of the most personal passages of the letter, Buffett gave a rare update on his health, saying he feels good in general while admitting the effects of aging are setting in.
“To my surprise, I generally feel good. Though I move slowly and read with increasing difficulty, I am at the office five days a week where I work with wonderful people,” he wrote.
Buffett leaves behind an unparalleled record. Since taking control of Berkshire in 1965, he’s transformed a struggling textile mill into a $1 trillion conglomerate spanning insurance, railroads, utilities and consumer brands.
The letter comes at a pivotal moment for Berkshire. The company is sitting on a record $381.6 billion in cash and has been selling equities for 12 straight quarters, reflecting Buffett’s caution in a richly valued market.
Berkshire‘s stock has risen roughly 10% in 2025, outpacing many defensive names but lagging the S&P 500 amid a tech-driven rally. The company’s underlying businesses remain strong with operating profit jumping 34% in the third quarter.
— With reporting by Becky Quick