BUSINESS

Greg Abel is Set to Become Warren Buffett’s Successor as Berkshire Hathaway CEO

Fact checked by Yarilet Perez
Reviewed by Akhilesh Ganti

Investors around the world have wondered for years who would take the reins of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, BRK.B) once current CEO Warren Buffett passes away or retires.

On May 3, 2025, 94-year-old Buffett gave them a clear answer, announcing that he intends to step down as CEO at the end of the year and plans to ask the Berkshire Hathaway board to replace him with Greg Abel. “I think the time has arrived where Greg should become the chief executive officer of the company at year end,” Buffett said during the company’s annual meeting.

Abel, 62, joined the Berkshire Hathaway board in 2018 as vice chair of non-insurance operations. He has over 30 years of experience in various roles at Berkshire Hathaway Energy, including 10 years as CEO.

“I think the prospects of Berkshire will be better under Greg’s management than mine,” Buffett said at the 2025 meeting in Omaha, Neb.

Key Takeaways

• At the Berkshire Hathaway 2025 annual meeting, Warren Buffett announced his intention to step down at the end of the year, saying he will ask the Berkshire Hathaway board to make Greg Abel CEO.
• Abel is currently Berkshire’s vice chair of non-insurance business operations and the chair of subsidiary Berkshire Hathaway Energy.
• Abel has been at Berkshire since 2000, when the conglomerate bought an energy company he’d been running.
• Known as a low-key but hardworking dealmaker, Abel has spearheaded some of Berkshire’s biggest and most successful acquisitions.

The first indication that Abel would become CEO came at the Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting in 2021, when then-executive vice chair of Berkshire Hathaway Charlie Munger made an offhand comment indicating that Abel would succeed Buffett. Buffett then confirmed the news in a CNBC interview the following Monday.

“Greg will keep the culture,” Munger said at the time, discussing Berkshire’s decentralized operating structure. Abel had long been considered one of the front-running heirs apparent for CEO, along with his fellow board member Ajit Jain, vice chair of insurance operations.

In 2023, Buffett and Munger reaffirmed Abel’s place in the company and said they were “100% confident” in their decision. “Greg understands capital allocation as well as I do. That’s lucky for us,” Buffett said at the meeting. “He will make those decisions, I think, very much in the same framework as I would make them. We have laid out that framework now for 30 years.”

Let’s meet the man who is poised to preside over one of the largest U.S. corporations in the post-Buffett era.

Early Life and Education

Born on June 1, 1962, and raised in Edmonton, Canada, Gregory Abel graduated from the University of Alberta in 1984 with a commerce degree. He became an accountant and, after a stint with Big Four accounting firm PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers), joined a small electricity company, CalEnergy, in 1992. In 1998, he rose to become president of the business, which expanded into a variety of energy operations, changing its name to MidAmerican Energy Holdings after one of the firms it acquired.

Abel became part of Berkshire Hathaway when the conglomerate bought MidAmerican in 2000. The firm eventually was re-named Berkshire Hathaway Energy (BHE). Abel served as its chief executive officer from 2008 to 2018. He currently serves as its chair.

With subsidiaries focused on coal, natural gas, hydroelectric, wind, solar, geothermal, and nuclear energy, BHE had nearly 24,000 employees and reported more than $25.9 billion in revenue for 2024.

Notable Accomplishments

BHE has accounted for and been involved in some of Berkshire’s largest acquisitions, including PacifiCorp in 2005, Nevada utility NV Energy in 2013, and Dominion Energy’s pipeline business in 2020.

Abel also nurtured Home Services, a small real estate brokerage that came with the purchase of another company. It’s now one of Berkshire’s most successful holdings.

At both MidAmerican and Berkshire, Abel was mentored by David Sokol, who seemed a likely successor to Warren Buffett until his resignation from Berkshire in 2011. Sokol was singing Abel’s praises to Buffett as early as 2007.

$20 million

Greg Abel’s compensation in 2023, according to Berkshire’s SEC filings.

Warren Buffett’s Successor

Although he tended to avoid public appearances and shareholder meetings, Abel’s reputation began to spread throughout the financial and business world, as did speculation about his role at a post-Buffett Berkshire. In September 2017, JP Morgan analyst Sarah DeWitt wrote in a note, “The most likely successor in our view, who Warren Buffett regularly praises, is Greg Abel.”

Then, in 2018, came the move that marked Abel as a potential heir apparent: Buffett elevated and appointed Abel, along with Ajit Jain, to the Berkshire Hathaway board of directors, creating two new seats for them. Abel received his current title: Vice-Chair of Non-Insurance Business Operations.

As such, Abel oversees all of Berkshire’s railroad, auto utilities, manufacturing, and retail subsidiaries—over 90 companies in all. All told, the non-insurance operations represent $150 billion in sales and comprise 250,000 employees.

For some time, Jain and Abel were both seen as likely successors to Buffett—in fact, some gave Jain the edge.

It’s possible that Abel’s age—he’s over a decade younger than the 73-year-old Jain—ultimately was the decisive factor in being named Buffett’s successor.

While at MidAmerican, Abel acquired a reputation as a superb dealmaker, leading and growing the company in more diversified directions through smart mergers and purchases, and managing the new acquisitions intelligently and efficiently. His handling of purchases of Enron’s gas lines and of a British firm, Northern Electric, stood out in particular.

Important

In his 2014 letter to shareholders, Charlie Munger characterized Greg Abel and Ajit Jain as “proven performers who would probably be under-described as ‘world-class.’ ‘World-leading’ would be the description I would choose. In some important ways, each is a better business executive than Buffett.”

Management Style

A resident of Des Moines, where Berkshire Energy is based, Abel leads a relatively low-key life, like Buffett. Although something of an insider’s secret, he has stepped up public appearances in the last few years and has become a notable onstage presence at recent annual meetings. His answers to questions, especially about energy conservation and sustainability, went down well with analysts and shareholders.

Note

Hockey is one of Abel’s passions. He played the sport as a boy and coaches his children’s teams. He previously served on the Hockey Canada Foundation’s Board of Directors.

Who Is Warren Buffett’s Successor?

In 2021, Greg Abel, chair of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, was named as Warren Buffett’s eventual successor. In 2025, Buffett announced that he would step down at the end of the year and would ask the Berkshire board to make Abel CEO.

What Is Greg Abel’s Net Worth?

Greg Abel’s net worth was estimated to be about $484 million in 2021.

How Much Is Warren Buffett Worth?

As of May 2025, Warren Buffett’s net worth is estimated to be about $160.9 billion.

The Bottom Line

Greg Abel will face challenges when he steps into the role of CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. An increasingly activist group of Berkshire shareholders is agitating for the company to spend more of its considerable cash reserves, to reduce its carbon footprint, and to promote diversity. All this, along with the fact that he’s not Warren Buffett.

But then, he won’t be inheriting Buffett’s exact role. The job Buffett did will probably be divvied up among various people. Abel would be the CEO of Berkshire, but Buffett’s son, Howard, is expected to be named Berkshire’s non-executive chairman.

Jain seems likely to continue as vice chair of insurance operations, and his job could expand further. He has also been cited as next in line for CEO, should anything happen to Abel.

Finally, there may well be a bigger role for Todd Combs and Ted Weschler. Both of these men are investment managers for Buffett and have been taking on greater responsibilities in managing smaller companies in the Berkshire portfolio. It is possible that both will be given more responsibility after Buffett’s departure.

Fact checked by Michael Rosenston

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Key Takeaways

• Bookkeeping refers to the practice of recording the financial transactions of a business.
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How Do You Become a Bookkeeper?

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Note

Bookkeepers are different than certified public accountants (CPAs), as CPAs are responsible for producing tax returns and financial reports, providing auditing services, and more. Plus, CPAs are required to have a college degree and a CPA license.

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