Warren Buffett will retire at the end of this year, suggested the name of Greg Abel for the new CEO

Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett, said on Saturday that he is retiring. He stated that he wishes to retire later in the year. While doing so, Buffett proposed the name of Greg Abel as the incoming Chief Executive Officer to the board of the firm. Buffett stated, 'I believe the time is right when Greg should take the position of Chief Executive Officer of the firm in the later part of the year.' Buffett shocked his shareholders with the announcement of his retirement.

Greg Abel has long functioned as Buffett's heir for the last 94 years. He already operates all the non-insurance businesses of Berkshire. Nonetheless, individuals thought that Abel would succeed Buffett after he died.

Buffett announced his retirement at the end of a five-hour Q&A session during the annual shareholder meeting and did not take any questions about it. During this, Buffett revealed that only two members of the board knew about his retirement, who are his children, Howard and Suzy Buffett. Abel, who was sitting on the stage next to Buffett, had no idea about this.

Many investors believe that Abel will do a good job in running Berkshire. However, questions remain about his investment skills. Buffett strengthened his faith in Abel by pledging to invest his fortune in the company. Buffett said, 'I have no intention of selling even a single share of Berkshire Hathaway. I will give it away eventually. The decision to hold every share is an economic decision, because I think Berkshire's prospects will be better under Greg's management than under my management.'

Greg Abel was born in Canada. He grew up in a working-class area of ​​Alberta. He studied accounting at the University of Alberta and graduated in 1984. Abel served as the company's senior executive officer from 1992 to 2008 and became chairman in 1999, when it became MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company. In 2014, MidAmerican became Berkshire Hathaway Energy. A subsidiary of Buffett's multinational conglomerate—Berkshire Hathaway Energy—has assets of over $90 billion and has subsidiaries in the energy business in the US, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the Philippines.