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Warren Buffett announced he will step down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway at the end of 2025, naming Vice Chairman Greg Abel as his successor. Buffett, now 94, expressed full confidence in Abel’s leadership and used the occasion to reiterate his skepticism of tariffs as a long-term economic strategy. Berkshire’s Q1 operating profit fell 14% to $9.64 billion, but the firm’s cash hoard reached a record $347.7 billion—giving Abel plenty of dry powder as he prepares to take the reins.

The transition is more than symbolic—it’s strategic. Abel now holds the keys to one of the largest capital allocators in the world at a time of historic cash build-up and macro volatility. The sharpest lens will be on how aggressively he puts that cash to work—and whether he can write the next great chapter without rewriting Buffett’s playbook. This is the end of an era, but also a test: can Berkshire thrive without the world’s most legendary investor at the helm?