Howard Buffett: Philanthropist Son Of Warren Buffett To Be Hathaway Chairman

Howard Buffett, the eldest son of legendary investor Warren Buffett, is already well-versed in corporate governance as he takes over for his father as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

Warren Buffett, 96, will now be chairman emeritus, ending a roughly six-decade run at the conglomerate. Howard, whose work experience includes law enforcement and philanthropy, has also been a director of several large corporations, including Coca-Cola Co., FirsTier Financial and Conagra Brands when it was known as ConAgra Foods.

He's also had plenty of time to get acquainted with the inner workings of Berkshire. 

"Howard has been a Berkshire director for 33 years," Buffett said of his 71-year-old son in the letter announcing his move Friday. "That is a longer apprenticeship than I served before taking the reins at the age of 34."

Howard's appointment is the culmination of a well-telegraphed transition for the leadership at Berkshire, a one-time textile manufacturer that Buffett turned into a trillion-dollar company. In 2011, Buffett told 60 Minutes that his oldest son was qualified to succeed him as chairman. Last year, Buffett announced he would step down as CEO, later ceding that role to one of his top lieutenants, Greg Abel, 64.

Philanthropy

In addition to his many corporate roles, Howard has run the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, which has historically focused on food security and conflict mitigation. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, his foundation has provided aid to the war-torn country.

The charity, along with the organizations run by his siblings Susie and Peter and his late mother's Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, have received donations from their father's stake in Berkshire.

Over the past decades, Howard Buffett has published numerous books on a diverse group of topics, including wildlife conservation, as well as border security and the US drug epidemic - two issues he became familiar with when he was running the sheriff's department in his rural Illinois county in 2017 and 2018.

"We are grateful to Howard for the care, discipline, and deep understanding of Berkshire he will bring to his new role," Abel said in a statement.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)