The End of an Era: Warren Buffett Steps Down As Berkshire Hathaway Chairman
September 18, 2026
AI Summary
5 min readWarren Buffett is stepping down as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, closing out a chapter in investing history. The 96-year-old Oracle of Omaha announced the news in a letter to investors, writing that "Father Time always wins." He will remain on the board and become chairman emeritus, while his son Howard Buffett takes over as chairman. The move comes more than a year after Buffett handed the CEO role to Greg Abel, and it marks the final step in the succession plan for one of the world's most closely watched companies.
The Succession: Howie Buffett Takes the Chair
Howard "Howie" Buffett is an unusual choice for chairman of a $1 trillion conglomerate. He has spent his career running a farm and serving as a sheriff, not inside Berkshire or any traditional corporate environment. But he has been on Berkshire's board for more than 30 years and has been described as a lifelong student of his father's business philosophy. WSJ Deputy Markets Editor Justin Baer noted that Buffett recognized his son as "probably the best person to step in as chairman whenever that time came."
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:26) **Warren Buffett Steps Down as Berkshire Hathaway Chairman** - Buffett announces he is stepping down as chairman, to be succeeded by his son Howard Buffett.
- 2 (04:43) **Market Roundup: Tech Rises, Bonds Surge** - A snapshot of today's market moves.
- 3 (05:13) **Private Equity Faces a Harsh New Reality Under Higher Rates** - The industry, already struggling, is further squeezed by the Fed's first rate hike in three years.
- 4 (07:48) **Anthropic Plans November IPO Amid AI Safety Debate** - The AI giant's blockbuster public offering is pushed back to November, later than expected.
- 5 (08:19) **Disney Hires Its First-Ever Chief Technology Officer** - Disney appoints Character.AI's head, Karen Deep Anand, as its first CTO.
- 6 (10:14) **President Trump Bans CNN, MSNBC, and Politico from the White House** - Trump announces an immediate ban on the three outlets over their coverage, with plans to ban others.
- 7 (10:32) **Volkswagen Slashes Profit Forecast Amid Tariffs and Competition** - The automaker cuts its full-year operating return on sales forecast to up to 1%, down from 4-5.5%.
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Guests on this episode
Show Notes
P.M. Edition for Sept. 18. In a letter to investors today, legendary investor Warren Buffett said he would step down as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway. WSJ deputy markets editor Justin Baer discusses why it’s happening now, and the details of Buffett’s long-held succession plan. Plus, Disney has hired the head of artificial-intelligence company Character.AI to be its first chief technology officer. We hear from Journal reporter Ben Fritz about how this fits into CEO Josh D’Amaro’s strategy. And President Trump says he’s banning CNN, MS Now and Politico from the White House over their coverage of his administration. Alex Ossola hosts.
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