Warren Buffett steps down as Berkshire Hathaway chairman at 96

September 18, 2026 at 04:01 PM2 min

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Warren Buffett is stepping down as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, the company announced today. Buffett, who turned 96 recently, retired as CEO at the turn of the year and now ends his six-decade leadership of the conglomerate he built into a $1 trillion enterprise.

Key Facts

Berkshire Hathaway announced today that Warren Buffett is stepping down as chairman.
Buffett, who recently turned 96, retired as CEO at the turn of the year.
Buffett bought his first stock, Cities Service Preferred, at age 11 and filed his first tax return at 13.
Buffett transformed a failing textile mill into a $1 trillion conglomerate over six decades.
Buffett was born in Omaha, Nebraska, on August 30, 1930, during the Great Depression.

Departure Announcement

Berkshire Hathaway announced today that Warren Buffett is stepping down as chairman. Buffett, who recently turned 96, retired from his role as CEO at the turn of the year. "Serving as your Chairman has been the privilege of a lifetime, and I have never taken your trust for granted," Buffett wrote in his parting words to shareholders. "Father Time always wins," he added.

Early Business Ventures

Buffett was born in Omaha, Nebraska, on August 30, 1930, at the height of the Great Depression. He was the second of three children and the only son of Howard, a stockbroker and later a congressman, and Leila, a homemaker. Buffett started his business career at six, selling Juicy Fruit chewing gum door to door. He later resold individual bottles of Coca-Cola from a pack, delivered newspapers, and built up a pinball machine business, which he later sold. Buffett was 11 when he bought his first stock, Cities Service Preferred, and filed his first tax return at 13.

Education and Value Investing

Buffett majored in business at Wharton before transferring to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and graduating in 1950, at the age of 19. Around that time, he read Benjamin Graham's "The Intelligent Investor," which introduced him to the key tenets of value investing. Buffett enrolled at Columbia Business School after learning Graham taught there. After graduating, he worked for his father's company for a year before joining Graham's investment firm. In 1952, at age 22, he married a college student, Susan Thompson, and the pair had their first child, Susan, in 1953.