Who is Greg Abel — Warren Buffett’s chosen successor as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway?

Greg Abel, a Canadian-born executive, has been officially named by Warren Buffett as his chosen successor to lead Berkshire Hathaway. While Buffett’s endorsement carries significant weight, the company’s board of directors will ultimately make the final call.

Abel is expected to take over as CEO in early 2026, ushering in a new era for one of the world’s most influential conglomerates.

At 62, Abel has been part of Berkshire Hathaway for more than two decades and currently serves as vice chairman of non-insurance operations. He previously led Berkshire Hathaway Energy (formerly MidAmerican Energy), a company in which Buffett acquired a controlling interest back in 1999.

His responsibilities will soon span Berkshire’s vast and eclectic collection of businesses, which employ nearly 400,000 people worldwide.

According to the Associated Press, Buffett and Berkshire’s board have long praised Abel’s sharp business instincts and operational expertise. Buffett once remarked that Berkshire is “so damn lucky” to have him—while noting that matching his own legendary investment track record won’t be easy.

Born in Edmonton, Alberta, Abel earned a bachelor’s degree in commerce from the University of Alberta. He began his career at PwC before joining CalEnergy, which later evolved into MidAmerican Energy. In 2022, he sold his 1% stake in Berkshire Hathaway Energy for $870 million, according to Business Insider.

Despite an estimated net worth close to $1 billion, Abel is known for his modest lifestyle. He lives in Des Moines, Iowa, where he once coached his son’s hockey and baseball teams. The Des Moines Register described him as a down-to-earth father and community figure. While Buffett favored a hands-off management approach, Abel is known for being more directly involved, especially in operations.

Abel has played a pivotal role in shaping Berkshire Hathaway’s global investment strategy, most notably through its multi-billion-dollar stakes in five of Japan’s largest trading houses. These moves align with the firm’s value-driven philosophy and signal a long-term outlook, reinforcing Berkshire’s commitment to patient capital.

Though rarely in the spotlight, Abel has impressed shareholders at annual meetings with his deep knowledge of Berkshire’s energy and transportation businesses. In a rare 2018 interview with the Horatio Alger Association, he credited his success to discipline and preparation—values that mirror Buffett’s own early lessons in business.

In his 2024 annual letter, Buffett praised Abel’s strong moral compass and commitment to transparency. “If you start fooling shareholders, you will soon believe your own baloney and be fooling yourself as well,” Buffett wrote—underscoring the ethical standard Abel is expected to uphold.

Although Charlie Munger first revealed Abel as Buffett’s likely successor in 2021, the news was formally confirmed at Berkshire’s 2025 annual meeting. “The time has arrived where Greg should become the chief executive officer of the company at year end,” Buffett said.

Buffett also acknowledged that Berkshire’s vast size has made it more difficult to find transformative deals. Abel, therefore, will lead the conglomerate through a new era—where preserving the company’s culture may matter just as much as breaking new ground.

Abel has seldom granted interviews, but his core values came through clearly during his Horatio Alger recognition in 2018. Raised in a working-class family in Edmonton, he embraced discipline and hard work early on. “I learned that if I put in a lot of work and was well-prepared, then success would be more likely,” Abel was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.

Still based in Des Moines—just two hours from Buffett’s Omaha—Abel is expected to remain there, in line with Berkshire’s famously decentralized model. Like Buffett before him, Abel will likely lead not from a gleaming headquarters, but from a quiet, focused office—built on long-term thinking, careful analysis, and enduring trust.

(With inputs from Agencies)